The Flintstones

First hugely successful prime-time animated sitcom; blueprint for adult-aimed cartoons later.

Why it matters

Episode guide

166 episodes across 6 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.

At a glance

Modern Stone Age family life — jobs, bowling, and two-car garages — rendered in Hanna-Barbera cartoons for prime-time adults. ABC's The Flintstones (1960–1966; 166 episodes) put Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty in Bedrock as a blue-collar sitcom with dinosaurs as appliances. It was television's first hugely successful prime-time animated sitcom, complete with laugh track and sponsor-friendly family plots. Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm extended the household; merchandising extended the empire. Yabba-dabba-doo became a national exhale.

Network & studio

• ABC — broadcast network
• Hanna-Barbera — production studio

Why watch now

The prime-time animation breakthrough — sitcom structure with prehistoric sight gags. Foundational for every adult-aimed cartoon family that followed.

Cultural impact

The Flintstones proved animation could own prime-time sitcom real estate and become a merchandising juggernaut. It established the animated family as ongoing American mythology. Without Bedrock, the later cartoon sitcom boom looks very different.

Creators

William Hanna · Joseph Barbera

Key cast

• Alan Reed as Fred Flintstone
• Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone
• Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble
• Bea Benaderet as Betty Rubble

Flash facts

• ABC prime-time animated sitcom by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera; aired 1960–1966 (6 seasons, 166 episodes).
• Centered on Fred and Wilma Flintstone and neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble in Bedrock.
• Widely recognized as the first hugely successful U.S. prime-time animated sitcom.
• Later added children Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm to the core family unit.
• Generated extensive merchandising and later spin-offs, films, and revivals.

FAQ

Back to the decade

More from the 1960s — Color, Spies & Space. All shows.