Need more Beetlejuice? The animated series is currently streaming for free

Beetlejuice is everywhere these days. It was a phenomenon in the late 80s, but based on the early box office tracking for the sequel, it's even bigger in the 2020s. The power of nostalgia. Everybody is going back and revisiting the original film, and with good reason.

If you've already done that, though, and still want to get your Beetlejuice fix, there's a secondary option: the animated series. Beetlejuice was transformed into an ABC series in 1989, and despite being somewhat lost to time, it ran for an impressive four seasons. Don't worry about the quality, either, because Beetlejuice director Tim Burton created and developed the series himself!

Beetlejuice the TV series ran four seasons

The series took an admittedly lighter tone than the film in terms of plot. Instead of force Lydia Deetz into marriage, Beetlejuice simply goes on wacky adventures with the teen every week. The two have formed a friendship, and whenever Lydia gets into trouble, she summons the undead con man and they sort it out. Naturally, chaos ensues.

Tim Burton's name was on the series from day one, but he was more than happy to cede creative control to animators like when an idea struck them. In the Cracked oral history for the series, co-showrunner Patsy Cameron claimed that Burton had absolutely no ego when it came to jokes, and would always prioritize what the most comical option was.

It's currently streaming for free on Tubi

"Tim Burton had no ego whatsoever," Cameron explained. "He was genuine and supportive and had lots of ideas. Some of the characters we came up with, with him." The director was so open to ideas, in fact, that one of the standout Beetlejuice episodes, "Brides of Funkenstein," was pitched to him by a fan of the show.

Sharon Chamberland mailed a story idea, and the producers were so impressed that they bought it outright and turned it into a full episode, according to Bangor Daily News.

The series ran from 1989 to 1990 on NBC, before shifting to Fox for the rest of its run. Despite the network switch, all 109 episodes are available to stream for free on Tubi. Revisit it if you remember growing up with it, or check it out for the first time if you didn't!