Villainous (Spanish: Villanos) is a Mexican-American animated television and web series produced by A.I. Animation Studios for Cartoon Network and Max. It was created by Alan Ituriel, a veteran of the animation industry in Mexico.[1][2] It is based on a 2012 web series of the same name which Ituriel had previously created and was initially picked up by Cartoon Network Latin America as a miniseries of ten one-minute episodes for the Cartoon Network Anything app (further episodes, along with a series of specials, were released later).[3][4] The series is co-produced by Cartoon Network (through its Latin America Original Production unit) and A.I. Animation Studios.[5] The series has since expanded onto a media franchise consistent of books and tie-ins.
On October 11, 2021, Ituriel's A.I. Animation Studios revealed that the series would be released on HBO Max Latin America and Cartoon Network Mexico, and premiered on both platforms on October 29, 2021.[6][7] The series premiered on Max in the United States on May 23, 2023.[8]
^"Los Villanos de Alan Ituriel llegarán a Campus Party 2020" [Alan Ituriel's Villains will arrive at Campus Party 2020]. Tendencia Digital. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020. This article notes that Ituriel founded A.I. Animation Studios.
^A.I. Animation [@aianimacion] (October 10, 2021). "La espera terminó #Villanos" [The wait is over #Villanos] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Twitter. A Twitter user also shared an HBO Max video showing that the series will be premiering on October 31, 2021, and by Atomo Network.