New Line Television

Background

New Line Television was the television production/distribution arm of New Line Cinema founded in 1991. Prior to this, New Line co-produced the Nightmare on Elm Street spinoff series Freddy's Nightmares with Lorimar Television. New Line was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System on January 28, 1994 and then Time Warner (now WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. On October 2006, it was officially announced that MGM Television (owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under MGM Holdings Inc.) would be distributing New Line Television material and television broadcasts of New Line films. On February 28, 2008, after New Line Cinema shut down as an independent studio under Time Warner, it was made as a division of Warner Bros. Pictures. As of the matter, New Line Television was closed down. New Line Television was revived in 2016 to produce the TV adaptations of Rush Hour and Frequency. New Line's film catalog was previously distributed by Viacom Enterprises.

1st Logo (October 8, 1988-March 12, 1990)

Nicknames: "The Filmbox II", "Box and Filmstrips II", "The Ladder II", "New Line Filmbox II"

Logo: It's the same logo as the movie version of New Line Cinema, but the animation is sped-up. The logo also has no television indicator whatsoever.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1987 New Line Cinema logo.

Music/Sounds: Just the end-title theme playing over it.

Availability: Rare. It's seen on Freddy's Nightmares.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1991?-1994)

Nicknames: "The Filmbox", "Box and Filmstrips", "New Line Filmbox", "The Ladder", "The Filmstrip", "Box and Filmstrips in a Filmstrip"

Logo: On a starry background is a silver filmstrip. Inside is the Filmbox logo with "NEW LINE CINEMA" below. The logo is inside the several frames. The logo eases back as the filmstrip scrolls down and eases in on one of the frames, where an orange sphere with a trail steaks in from right to left and causes the Filmbox to flip around once.

Trivia: This is actually the logo bumper for New Line Cinema's syndication movie and TV package, that was syndicated by RHI Entertainment (at the time a New Line affiliate) through New Line Television Distribution.

FX/SFX: The CGI filmstrip scrolling.

Music/Sounds: A majestic synthesized fanfare with a chime section and a whoosh as the orange streak appears.

Availability: Extinct. It appeared on television broadcasts of several New Line, RHI, and other third-party programs in syndication in the early-1990s. Such examples include broadcasts of the colorized It's a Wonderful Life (before Republic Pictures took over the rights) and off-network reruns of Motown Merry Christmas.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1991?-1994)

Nicknames: "The Filmbox III", "Box and Filmstrips III", "The Ladder III", "New Line Filmbox III", "Chrome Ladder", "Chrome Filmstrip", "New Line Chrome Filmbox"

Logo: On a black background we see a metallic filmstrip, then the camera rotates and the New line logo forms as it is being cut from the filmstrip. Then the words "NEW LINE TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" on New Line's corporate font fades-in. Under it there's a line and a byline that reads "A Division of RHI Entertainment, Inc.".

Trivia: This logo was used during the time New Line Cinema owned 55% of RHI Entertainment in 1991.

FX/SFX: The filmstrip rolling, and the ladders forming the logo.

Music/Sounds: The second part of the RHI fanfare theme from the era.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was found on an RHI reprint of the movie In the Line of Duty.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1993?-1997)

Nicknames: "The Filmbox IV", "Box and Filmstrips IV", "CGI Ladder", "The Ladder IV", "New Line Filmbox IV"

Logo: A shortened version of the 1987 New Line Cinema logo, where it starts off with the logo dimming down to the glow behind the box and filmstrips. The text below reads "NEW LINE TELEVISION".

Variant: On the TV-movie Father and Scout, a still version appears.

FX/SFX: Same as the movie logo.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme to the program.

Availability: Extinct. This appeared on Court TV: Inside America's Courts (and its counterparts Justice This Week and The System) in syndication. It also appeared on the original ABC airing of the TV movie Father and Scout, but home media releases remove this (the DVD has the standard theatrical closing logo with AOL Time Warner byline).

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1994-2008)

Nicknames: "CGI Filmbox", "The Filmbox V", "Box and Filmstrips V", "CGI Ladder II", "The Ladder V", "New Line Filmbox V"

Logo: It's the same movie logo as New Line Cinema. But this time, "TELEVISION" replaces the word "CINEMA" with a line separating the logo with the respective company byline underneath.

Bylines: The company used different bylines:

1994-1997: "A Turner Company"
1997-2001: "A Time Warner Company"
2001-2003: "An AOL Time Warner Company"
2002?: The AOL Time Warner logo with an extra line below.
2003: "A Time Warner Company"
2003-2008: "A TimeWarner Company"

Variants: There were different variations of the logo:

The full animation of the movie logo but having the words "NEW LINE TELEVISION" instead. Sometimes, the animation is normal or sped-up.

The font of the name may vary in size and/or may not be completely uppercase.

In 1998, the line and the byline were shifted up a little underneath the name.

On season 3 of The Lost World, the series used the 2001 New Line Cinema logo with the AOL Time Warner byline.

On Kitchen Confidential, the logo is bylineless.

It's also referred to as "NEW LINE TELEVISION PAY PER VIEW" with "PAY PER VIEW" below. This text may or may not be in all-caps.

FX/SFX: Just the light flashing or animating behind the logo, or the full animation of the current movie logo.

Music/Sounds: This is the list of logo themes as follows:

1994-2008: The finishing of the end title theme from any show, TV movie, or silent.
1997-2008: The last few notes from the movie version or the full theatrical version for some TV presentations.
2001-2003: Same as above, but low-toned and re-arranged by synthesizers instead.
2003: A synth theme.
2003-2008: A battle styled theme using different notes from the previous theme with kettle drums.
2005: An awkward short version using notes from the full movie logo.

Availability: Uncommon. It's seen on The Lost World, The Mask: The Animated Series, Blade: The Series, Masterminds, the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone, and Family Foreman, among others. The New Line Television Pay Per View logos are extinct and were last seen on some New Line movies that aired on Starz, Encore, and pay-per-view.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (March 31, 2016-January 25, 2017)

Nicknames: "CGI Filmbox II", "The Filmbox VI", "Box and Filmstrips VI", "CGI Ladder III", "The Ladder VI", "New Line Filmbox VI"

Logo: On a black background, we see a still image of the 1994-2010 New Line Cinema logo (with the 2003 TimeWarner byline fading in below it).

Variant: The logo is shown with the Ratpac Television logo on Rush Hour, and the 2003 Warner Bros. Television logo on Hairspray Live!.

FX/SFX: The byline fading in.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the program or none.

Availability: Current. It first appeared (with the Ratpac Television logo) on the short-lived TV adaptation of Rush Hour and also appeared on Hairspray Live!. The stand-alone version can be seen on Frequency.

Editor's Note: None.