Television has depicted superhumans in shows that range from idiotic sitcoms (Psi In The House, ABC, 1979 - 1983) to Emmy-winning documentaries (The Day The Earth Turned Upside Down, PBS, February 12, 1980). As time went on, of course, a superhuman character went from being a gimmick or a stereotype and turned into a real person.
A few fictional superhero-based television series have appeared over the years, but none has been as successful as NBC's Suicide Squad, an hour-long drama featuring a group of ex-government super-soldiers who work as soldiers-of-fortune while being on the run from the shady government agency that created them. Kid oriented cartoons on Saturday morning has long been dominated by superheroes of one type or another. The number one example of superhero oriented cartoons was The Super League of Justice Friends, with characters based on the Global Guardians team lineup of the time, which ran for thirteen seasons on ABC in the seventies and early eighties.
Superheroes and their effect on society are today a constant topic of discussion on the nation's television and radio talk shows. Television talk shows like Maura Evans occasionally focus on the effect some recent battle or villain plot has had on ordinary people's lives, and often take a negative tone towards superhumans, as they are understandably reluctant to appear in the studio to defend themselves. On radio, though, supers usually get a fairer shake. Not only are a majority of talk show hosts friendly to supers -- they get more irate callers that way -- but heroes (and even villains) have been known to call in personally to set the record straight.
Television covers super battles and crimes in much the same way as newspapers. All three major network news operations and CNN have correspondents that cover the super scene. CNN's Anderson Cooper also hosts the network's weekly half-hour Super Journal. On the show, Cooper recaps the world's super news of import in the first half of the show, then interviews a newsmaker or authority on the big super story of the week.
"Super Journal" is not the only television news show concerned with metahumans. Tabloid TV, like The Real News and Inside Story cover supers whenever there's dirt to be found. CourtTV carries gavel-to-gavel coverage of supervillains' trials, when allowed. And Superfile is a syndicated half-hour superhero infotainment/chat show, as if "Super Journal" was produced by the E! Network.