Underdog

Underdog

Created by W. Watts Biggers

On NBC

1964–19663 seasons129 episodes10 min6.4 / 10

A cheerful, rhyming Saturday morning superhero cartoon where an underdog dog saves his love interest from cartoonish villains with unfailing optimism and playful verse.

Underdog, also known as The Underdog Show, is an American Saturday morning animated television series that ran from October 3, 1964, to March 4, 1967, starting on the NBC network until 1966, with the rest of the run on CBS, under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, for a run of 62 episodes. It is one of the early Saturday morning cartoons. The show continued in syndication until 1973. Underdog, Shoeshine Boy's heroic alter ego, appears whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred is being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Underdog nearly always speaks in rhyming couplets, as in "There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!"

Keywords

Questions people ask

  • Is Underdog easy watching? Yes, very. More comforting than 97% of series.

  • Does Underdog leave you hopeful? Yes, very. More hopeful than 97% of series.

  • Is Underdog sad? No. Less sad than 92% of series.

  • Is Underdog scary? Barely. Less frightening than 76% of series.

  • Is Underdog violent? Not especially. Less violent than 65% of series.

These describe how the series comes across across its whole run, compared with other well-known series. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked episode by episode, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

52/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this series gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Familiar shape, done well.

Rarity48

How unlike any other series this one feels

Surprise61

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love46

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like Underdog

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as Underdog

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like Underdog, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like Underdog, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like Underdog, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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