The show's broadcast debut in September 1992 was in the form of a half-hour prime-time special, "The Little Mermaid: A Whale of a Tale". Its Saturday morning debut came the very next day. The show's time slot was 8:30 a.m., following another new animated series, "Fievel's American Tails", based on the animated movie "An American Tail". "The Little Mermaid" series drew a fair bit of media attention, including more than one spot on "Entertainment Tonight", because it was the first series based directly on a Disney animated feature and was a rare television cartoon concerning a strong female character. The show kept its time slot the following year with its second season.