Toon In with Me is a live-action/animated anthology series created by Neal Sabin for MeTV. A preview episode named The MeTV Cartoon Kick-Off Show aired on 1 January 2021 before the series debuted officially on 4 January.
The series is hosted by Bill Leff (known in the series as Bill, the 'Cartoon Curator') and a talking tuna-fish named Toony (who is puppeteered and voiced by Kevin Fleming).
Unlike previous anthology series or reruns of these classic cartoons, many of these cartoons are remastered and restored. Many of these remastered shorts have not been released on home media or streaming, making these airings the first time some of the cartoons are seen remastered and restored in HD.
Premise and format[]
The series is hosted from the MeTV studios by Bill the Cartoon Curator. His co-host is Toony, a cartoon-loving tuna puppet, whom Bill has to take care of while Toony's owner, Goldie Fisher (Leila Gorstein, seasons 1-2), is away on a world tour. As they present all of the cartoons, Bill and Toony deal with various issues in the studio, video chat with Goldie, and receive useful information from game series host Mr. Quizzer (also played by Fleming). Fleming and Gorstein also play many other characters, such as Teddy Roosevelt, a fictionalized version of the 26th president who serves as a foil for Bill.
The series harkens back to locally produced children's programs that aired from the 1950s through the 1990s, with a live-action host, comedy, and puppetry segments in between classic cartoons. These cartoons include the likes of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Tom and Jerry and other MGM shorts, Popeye, Betty Boop, Columbia cartoons, among others. DePatie-Freleng shorts (including the Pink Panther, The Inspector, and Roland and Ratfink) aired from May 2021 through May 2023, while shorts from the Walter Lantz library began to air in September 2023. Terrytoons cartoons are scheduled to begin airing in November 2025.
Most shows end with Bill and Toony showing off drawings and photos sent in by fans via the show's website, and from 3 September 2021 until 31 March 2023, they had done "Fan-Tastic Friday", where almost every Friday, the crew would show cartoons, suggestions, art, questions, and more submitted by fans.
On Friday, 24 June 2022, Leila Gorstein left the series in the episode "Farewell Goldie", and as Leila left the show, so did a number of her characters she played.
Beginning with Season 4, the series started producing episodes involving Bill and Toony visiting various states in America. These episodes were labeled as part of a "Trekkin' All 50" tour.
Broadcast[]
The series airs on weekday mornings at 7:00 a.m. ET on MeTV and at 11:00 p.m. ET (11:30 p.m. ET from 25 June 2024 to 12 September 2025) on MeTV Toons. Each episode usually includes 4 to 5 cartoons, though on some occasions, six cartoons are shown. It premiered on MeTV+ on 17 May 2021, airing on weeknights at 9:00 p.m. ET. The series subsequently moved to MeTV Toons during its launch in June 2024 and was dropped from the MeTV+ schedule.
Episodes[]
- Main article: List of Toon In with Me episodes (season 1)
- Main article: List of Toon In with Me episodes (season 2)
- Main article: List of Toon In with Me episodes (season 3)
- Main article: List of Toon In with Me episodes (season 4)
- Main article: List of Toon In with Me episodes (season 5)