Nightmare Ned is an American animated television series which ran from April 19 to July 5, 1997, on ABC. The show was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Creative Capers Entertainment, and created by Terry Shakespeare, G. Sue Shakespeare, and David Molina of Creative Capers Entertainment. The show was based on and developed alongside the computer game of the same name, but the show ended up being completed before the video game was released.
Nightmare Ned focuses on the life of Ned Needlemeyer (voiced by Courtland Mead), an 8-year-old boy who deals with his daily problems through dark yet quirky nightmares. The show received mixed reviews from critics. After it's original run, reruns would continue until August 30, 1997. The show was never re-released, being described as a "great oddity of the Disney Studio's television output" which was "largely disowned". As of June 2019, all episodes have been found by third parties and unofficially uploaded to YouTube.
The Nightmare Ned television show was developed alongside the computer game of the same name. Donovan Cook described the collaboration: "There's some crossover. We sent them our graphics. [...] We had to have our art done right away and they ended up influenced by it along the way". The series had a few guest voice actors, such as Eugene Levy, Florence Henderson, and Andrea Martin.
Nightmare Ned premiered on ABC's Saturday morning children's programming block on April 19, 1997 as a mid-season replacement for the live-action horror series Bone Chillers in the channel's line-up. The series was initially planned for only one season with an option to renew for a second, but due to production difficulties, the show was not continued after its 12-episode first season. The show ran over budget and there were creative differences between Donovan Cook, the producer and director of the show, and Walt Dohrn, the developer and also a director of the show.
The show received mixed reviews from critics. The Chicago Tribune praised the show's art style but was critical of its subject matter. Similarly, Screen Rant described the show as "dark and even disturbing" and "mainly an excuse for Disney animators to show off their strange side". In contrast, Animation World Magazine described it as an "offbeat, colorful show", and it also received praise from TV Guide.