Sonic the Hedgehog is an American animated series created by DiC, also known as SatAM because it was originally aired in the United States as a Saturday primetime cartoon. It was loosely based on the video game series of the same name. The series aired from September 18, 1993 to December 3, 1994 on ABC.

The series had a dark atmosphere about it and this sharply contrasts with Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, a syndicated series that premiered in the same month and was much more light-hearted in tone: Adventures..., for example, had Robotnik as a bungling villain assisted by equally-incompetent robots, while this series portrays him as a ferocious dictator.

Writer Ben Hurst (I) revealed that the red eyes at the end of "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1993) {The Doomsday Project (#2.13)} (the final episode) actually belonged to Naugus. He explained that the plans for the third season were: Snively tries to retake control of Robotropolis, but ultimately fails. On the verge of losing it all to the Freedom Fighters, he turns to "The Void", where Naugus is busy torturing Robotnik. Snively frees Naugus, and in the process also frees Robotnik and King Acorn. Naugus assumes control, and starts his new command by trying to lure Sally into capture with the King as bait. Robotnik becomes Naugus' lackey. And Snively, now reduced to a simpering nobody, defects to the Freedom Fighters. Hurst went on later to say that more developments would have come along between the relationship of Sonic and Tails, coming a little closer to the game relationship it strayed so far away from. Sooner on down the line in possible future episodes we would also have learned of the origins of Robotnik and Snively.

A third season was planned, hence the cliff hanger at the end of the series.

Two episodes were adapted for the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series published by Archie Comics. Specifically, "Ghost Busted" was adapted in Sonic Super Special #8, and "Cry of the Wolf" was adapted in Sonic the Hedgehog #113.

Before this show first premiered in England, the English Sonic the Hedgehog comic (Sonic the Comic #12, 30 October 1993) showed pictures advertising a new Sonic cartoon and telling readers to watch out for it coming soon. Instead of the Freedom Fighters, the group was named the Freedom Team and consisted all the animals rescued by Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991/I) (VG). The members were: Sonic, Johnny Lightfoot (rabbit), Tux (penguin), Princess Acorn, Joe Sushi (walrus), Chirps (chicken), Porker Lewis (pig) and Flicky (bird). These characters were later used in all the Sonic novels released in the UK, and Johnny and Porker became part of Sonic's supporting cast in the "Sonic the Comic" stories. After radical changes to the show (basically making enormous alterations to pretty much everything in order to make it entirely different), it became this show.

"Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The" (1993)_ (qv) was originally going to air on ABC, but ABC executives did not like that show and told DiC they had to make a different cartoon starring Sonic the Hedgehog. DiC quickly came up with this show, which premiered on ABC in fall of 1993.

CASTLE THUNDER: Heard in several episodes, usually in Robotropolis.

The 13 episodes from the first season of this show ran on Saturday mornings at the same time as the 65 episodes (not including Christmas special) of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The" (1993) were being shown during the weekdays.

Kath Soucie used her real voice when speaking as Princess Sally.