Beast Machines: Transformers is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment as part of the Transformers franchise. Hasbro has full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars, taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series. The show ran for two seasons, airing on YTV and Fox Kids from September 18, 1999 to November 18, 2000. Of the Transformers animated series produced in North America, Beast Machines was the only one to have been completely conceptualized and outlined in advance, lending it a more serialized and linear storyline than the others.