TV Kids April 2022

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APRIL 2022 EDITION

Diversity & Inclusion / STEM- & STEAM-Based Shows / Kristen Bell / KiKA Turns 25 DreamWorks Animation’s Peter Gal / Aardman’s Nick Park / Mattel’s Fred Soulie

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CONTENTS

Lighting a Spark Convening some of the biggest names in the business for our TV Kids Festival this winter, we heard about many of the major trends today, from the importance of inclusion to the power of known IP to the complexities and opportunities of working with streamers.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Managing Editor Jamie Stalcup Associate Editor David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2022 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.com

But perhaps the most apparent theme was just how much people in the kids’ business genuinely love working in it. You could see it across every single one of our 20 sessions, involving a total of 32 speakers, all available to view on-demand on TVKidsFestival.com: a firm desire to elevate the content and find smarter, savvier ways of making shows that will amuse, entertain, educate and mold young minds across the globe.

You’ll find those same themes across this edition of TV Kids. We take a deep dive into something that weighs on my mind constantly: the need for greater diversity and inclusion across the kids’ media landscape. Progress over the last few years has been significant. However, there is still a ways to go before the industry gets to the point where that simple concept— that all kids, regardless of origin or ability or sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve to see themselves represented and respected on-screen—is fully implemented. We also explore shows that incorporate science, technology, engineering, arts and math in ways that young ones will respond to and not be bored by—at a time when broadcasters and platforms have, since the pandemic, truly understood the power and value of edutainment.

KiKA has long believed in the power to entertain and inform young ones; since its inception, in fact, 25 years ago. In this special report, we hear from Astrid Plenk, managing and programming director, and Sebastian Debertin, the head of international content acquisitions, about the pubcaster’s winning approach, its expanding digital arena and its content wish lists for acquisitions and co-productions in the months to come as it looks to enrich German kids’ lives.

We also hear from Kristen Bell, an executive producer and one of the voice talents on Do, Re & Mi, an Amazon original from Gaumont that uses music to help children learn; DreamWorks Animation’s Peter Gal on that studio’s approach; Aardman’s Nick Park on the origins of the Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep characters; and Fred Soulie on what’s new at Mattel Television.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

FEATURES

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

A look at how producers and distributors are embracing diversity and inclusion.

GET SMART!

Exploring shows that incorporate science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.

KIKA @ 25

Astrid Plenk, managing and programming director, and Sebastian Debertin, the head of international content acquisitions, share what’s driving the success of the German pubcaster as it marks its landmark 25th birthday.

INTERVIEWS Kristen Bell

Peter Gal DreamWorks Animation

Nick Park Aardman

Fred Soulie Mattel Television

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Australian Children’s Television Foundation MaveriX / More Than This / Built to Survive The Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) has a slew of new titles on offer, including the adventure drama MaveriX. Filmed in Alice Springs, the series features a diverse group of teenagers who are driven to succeed in motocross.

The six-part series More Than This, written by teens for teens, follows the story of five 17-year-old students and their teacher, whose worlds collide when they are thrown together in an English class. “It explores the challenges facing Australian teenagers as they come of age: social, family and school pressures, bullying, body image, relationships and sexuality,” says Roberta Di Vito, international sales manager. The ACTF highlight Built to Survive sees outback survival expert Phil Breslin brave Australia’s most extreme environments to find species that have evolved to withstand the hostile conditions.

CAKE

MaveriX

“All three programs have a real highenergy, authentic and distinctive edge.”

—Roberta Di Vito

Angry Birds MakerSpace

Total Drama Island / Lucas the Spider / Angry Birds MakerSpace CAKE has on offer two new seasons of the original Total Drama Island format, an animated reality series targeted at tweens that launched in 2007. Now, the cast of quirky teen contestants returns to face hardcore competition, brutal eliminations and more drama than ever before. A CGI animated series based on the viral YouTube hit of the same name, Lucas the Spider “retains the authenticity of the original YouTube shorts created by accomplished animator Joshua Slice while introducing longer narratives, new characters and an expanded universe,” says Ed Galton, CEO. CAKE’s slate also includes the second season of Angry Birds MakerSpace, a series of non-dialogue shorts set in a busy workplace where birds and pigs experiment with the latest gadgets without destroying each other.

“We are always keen to become involved in development projects with unique stories told from all over the world.”

—Ed Galton

Cyber Group Studios Nefertine on the Nile / Gigantosaurus / 50/50 Heroes Nefertine on the Nile, based on a series of best-selling books, leads Cyber Group Studios’ highlights. “The series is a great mix between comedy and the discovery of ancient Egypt, in which our girl hero helps her friends when they’re in trouble,” says Raphaëlle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media. The second season of Gigantosaurus is available for free-to-air channels, and its third season is currently in production. The first ten episodes of the comedy 50/50 Heroes are on offer as well.

Cyber Group is also highlighting the feature animation film The Case, which tells the tale of a young migrant boy who wants to pursue his dream. “We believe that in these special times, it becomes absolutely key to enhance content with meaning,” Mathieu notes.

Nefertine on the Nile

“All the titles are, in their special way, feel-good programs.”

—Raphaëlle Mathieu 106 WORLD SCREEN 4/22

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eOne Family Brands Transformers: Earthspark / My Little Pony: A New Generation / Power Rangers Dino Fury In eOne Family Brands’ Transformers: Earthspark, a human family welcomes a new generation of Transformers robots— the first to be born on Earth. Together, the Transformers and their human carers redefine what it means to be a family. My Little Pony: A New Generation, which debuted this past fall, reinvented the brand to introduce a new group of ponies to today’s children. The eOne Family Brands highlight Power Rangers Dino Fury sees the Rangers face their greatest challenges yet. Monica Candiani, executive VP of content sales, says, “Buyers know that these characters and stories resonate well with viewers—whether it’s the emphasis on friendship and acceptance in My Little Pony, the diversity and inclusion seen in Power Rangers or the leadership and teamwork in Transformers.”

“The key for all of our properties is that they tell universally appealing stories.”

My Little Pony: A New Generation

—Monica Candiani

Gaumont Bionic Max In Gaumont’s animated buddy comedy series Bionic Max, a malfunctioning bionic guinea pig and his goldfish friend escape from their laboratory into the bustling city streets of Woodchuck Woods. There, they must learn to adapt to an urban jungle and try to fit in with the local wildlife. For 6- to 11-year-olds, the series is “pure entertainment with visual gags,” says Cécilia Rossignol, executive VP of international sales and development. It also demonstrates how to deal with problems by “using good humor and a desire to see the sunny side of life,” Rossignol adds. “It all comes back to the universal elements of friendship and solidarity—with a little touch of madness to make it fun.” Gaumont’s children’s slate also includes Belle and Sebastian and Galactik Football.

Bionic Max

“Bionic Max meets the need for something ‘feel-good,’ which is always reassuring for young viewers.”

—Cécilia Rossignol

The Smurfs 2D series

I.M.P.S. The Smurfs 3D series / The Smurfs 2D series / The Smurfs and the Magic Flute I.M.P.S. has a variety of The Smurfs programs on offer, including a new 3D series, the classic 2D series and a feature film. In the 3D, CGI The Smurfs series, now with two seasons, viewers will “discover original stories with more complex characters, snappier dialogue, joyful anarchy and irresistible global appeal,” says Nele de Wilde, head of sales, production and business development, audiovisual and music. The new series also introduces the Smurf girls. I.M.P.S.’s slate features The Smurfs 2D series from the ’80s as well, which follows the magical adventures of the original blue characters. The Smurfs and the Magic Flute film sees the Smurfs attempt to save the day when the villain Oilycreep gets his hands on a magic flute and uses it to carry out his evil deeds.

“The Smurfs is known all over the world and continues to please those young and old.”

—Nele de Wilde 108 WORLD SCREEN 4/22

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Silly Animals

Jetpack Distribution Alice’s Diary / The Mini Kids / Silly Animals Jetpack Distribution is presenting the upper preschool series Alice’s Diary, in which Alice’s curiosity and unconventional understanding of the world are relatable for young ones everywhere. The Mini Kids, NRK’s first show aimed at toddlers, combines live-action performances by real 1-yearolds with animation and playful props. “It’s hugely didactic and something that parents across the globe will welcome,” says Dominic Gardiner, CEO of Jetpack Distribution. It’s “safe, funny and enjoyable for the youngest sector.” For 5- to 12year-olds, the 20-episode spoof documentary Silly Animals caters to the adoration children worldwide have for animals.

Blending live action and animation, the series sees Gary the vlogging dog, voiced by British comedian Alan Carr, sneak into a secret vault to find the funniest animal clips.

“We come with a burgeoning library of 1,500 half-hours and the strongest lineup we’ve ever had.”

—Dominic Gardiner

Mattel Masters of the Universe franchise / Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go / Barbie franchise Barbie: It Takes Two

Mattel has on offer two series from the Masters of the Universe franchise: Masters of the Universe: Revelation and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. From the Thomas & Friends franchise, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go features new art direction, more physical comedy and a greater range of character expressiveness.

Mattel’s slate also includes three animated Barbie specials: Barbie Princess Adventure, Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday and Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams. A full-length TV series for the brand titled Barbie: It Takes Two is a new franchise extension. Fred Soulie, senior VP and general manager of Mattel Television, says, “Our brands have demonstrated their resilience, cultural relevance and multigenerational appeal.”

“Mattel’s purpose across all our franchises is to empower the next generation.”

—Fred Soulie

Mediatoon Distribution The Marsupilamis / Living with Dad / Versailles Unleashed—Belfort & Lupin The Marsupilamis, an adventure series, leads Mediatoon Distribution’s highlights. The 52-episode children’s show begins when Hope, Twister and Punch hatch in the big city.

The three love to play wildly, so living discreetly is hard. The sitcom Living with Dad centers on Baby Bella, Roxane, Ondine and Panda, four stepsisters who live together with their father.

Though they all have different personalities, they always team up against their dad. Fifty-two episodes of the series are available. In the 26-episode adventure comedy Versailles Unleashed—Belfort & Lupin, two intelligent dogs go on adventures through the Palace of Versailles and its menagerie.

Together, they explore the mysteries and secrets of the famed palace. Also on offer from Mediatoon are Samsam, The FoxBadger Family, Akissi and Kid Lucky.

Living with Dad

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Goat Girl

MIAM ! animation Edmond and Lucy / The MiniWhats / Goat Girl MIAM ! animation’s first in-house production, the CGI preschool series Edmond and Lucy, leads the company’s distribution slate for MIPTV. Adapted from the Edmond and Friends books, it follows Edmond the squirrel, Lucy the bear cub and their group of friends as they go on outdoor adventures. “We are proud to bring to the market a highquality program respectful of nature on-screen and behind the screen,” says Mélanie Errea, sales and acquisitions manager. MIAM ! is also presenting The MiniWhats, a comedy show co-produced by Doncvoilà Productions and Silex Films for France Télévisions that sees kids use drawing to find answers to their life questions. Goat Girl, co-produced by MIAM ! animation and Daily Madness, centers on Gigi, a 13-year-old girl raised by goats, as she starts boarding school.

“We wish to bring a new and positive vision of ecology with our shows, through both our storytelling and our production pipeline.”

—Mélanie Errea

Mondo TV Group & Toon2Tango Agent 203 / Monster Loving Maniacs / The Wee Littles Mondo TV and Toon2Tango are presenting the new CGI “spyfi” series Agent 203, about a girl on a quest to save the universe and find her father while also coping with everyday teenage issues. Monster Loving Maniacs is a 2D comedy adventure series about three siblings training to become monster hunters. The preschool show The Wee Littles follows a family of four very small creatures in the big forest and is inspired by traditional Irish tales. “The partnership with Toon2Tango has added many new high-quality shows to our production schedule,” says Matteo Corradi, president and CEO of Mondo TV. “Since launching Toon2Tango just over two years ago, we have been able to develop, produce and distribute high-quality shows for all demographics,” adds Ulli Stoef, CEO and producer at Toon2Tango.

“All of these shows are part of the strategic development and production agreement between Toon2Tango and Mondo TV Group.”

—Matteo Corradi (left) & Ulli Stoef

Agent 203

NBCUniversal Global Distribution Dragons: The Nine Realms / Take Note / Gabby’s Dollhouse From NBCUniversal Global Distribution, Dragons: The Nine Realms marks the next chapter in the franchise from DreamWorks Animation. It has “the same adventure and heart as the How to Train Your Dragon films that fans know and love, but for the first time, it’s set in modern times,” says Chloe Van den Berg, senior VP, head of kids and family entertainment. Take Note is a Peacock and Sky coproduction that features family-centric comedy along with original songs and pop covers. “The series is centered on universal themes that audiences around the world can relate to and demonstrates the power of a loving family and the importance of following your dreams,” Van den Berg says. The preschool series Gabby’s Dollhouse rounds out the slate.

Gabby’s Dollhouse

“With music, friendship and an incredible ensemble cast of cat characters, preschoolers everywhere are falling in love with Gabby and friends.”

—Chloe Van den Berg 112 WORLD SCREEN 4/22

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Incredibears

Odin’s Eye Entertainment The Beachbuds / Incredibears / Daisy Quokka Odin’s Eye Entertainment is spotlighting The Beachbuds, a series aimed at kids aged 6 to 11 that has been acquired by Disney for Southeast Asia. The recently completed Incredibears, which follows teddy-bear siblings as they embark on imaginative journeys, is currently available worldwide. “The Beachbuds is a lot of fun with its wit and zany cast of characters, whereas Incredibears is super cute and full of vibrant colors and situations for younger audiences,” says Michael Favelle, CEO and head of sales. Further highlights include Daisy Quokka, in which a crocodile tries to help an eternally optimistic quokka named Daisy win the annual World’s Scariest Animal sports championship. The adventurecomedy feature is targeted at families.

“We have great taste in IP and can deliver high-quality programming.”

—Michael Favelle

Operation Ouch!

Serious Kids Girls of Olympus / The New Legends of Monkey / Operation Ouch!

Serious Kids is bringing to MIPTV Girls of Olympus, an animated fantasy adventure series aimed at the 8-to-12 set made by The Animation Band for Rai Gulp. The animated series “centers on themes such as friendship, love and bravery, which are conveyed through the fantastic adventures and everyday lives of three teenagers,” says Leila Ouledcheikh, senior VP of global distribution and commercial development.

The second season of the See-Saw Films-produced drama The New Legends of Monkey is also on Serious Kids’ slate, as is the tenth season of the science show Operation Ouch! with Dr. Chris, Dr. Xand and Dr. Ronx. “Operation Ouch! goes from strength to strength and is breaking into new territories ten years on,” says Ouledcheikh. “It has proven itself time and time again in the most varied platforms and cultures worldwide.”

“Our most successful human science show, the new seasons of Operation Ouch! will offer brand-new adventures and experiments.”

—Leila Ouledcheikh

Sesame Street Mecha Builders

Sesame Workshop Sesame Street Mecha Builders / Bea’s Block / Play to Learn Sesame Street Mecha Builders, a series that reimagines Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby as robot superheroes-intraining with STEM superpowers, tops Sesame Workshop’s highlights. Bea’s Block follows 5-year-old Bea and her two best block friends as they go on “kindness adventures” to help others in their community. “Both series will include fully integrated educational curricula, engaging music and a whole lot of heart—everything parents expect from the makers of Sesame Street,” says Whit Higgins, senior VP of international media and education and distribution. A new collection of animated formats, Play to Learn is designed to engage preschoolers with playful early learning content. The first format, Big Feelings Explorers, is focused on understanding and managing emotions.

“Sesame Workshop is committed to creating content that makes a positive impact on today’s kids.”

—Whit Higgins 4/22 WORLD SCREEN 113

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Sinking Ship Entertainment Alma’s Way / The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy / Odd Squad A Bronx-born Puerto Rican girl is living her best fast-paced city life in the Sinking Ship Entertainment animated highlight Alma’s Way. The live-action series The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy is a storytime cabaret variety series that features books, puppet friends, animated characters and musical guests and is hosted by the titular drag artist duo. Another live-action title on Sinking Ship’s slate, the math-focused comedy series Odd Squad centers on a high-tech organization run by kids that investigates strange goings-on. “All three of these titles showcase qualities in top-tier children’s programming that Sinking Ship is known for worldwide: inclusivity, curiosity, learning objectives and entertainment,” says Kate Sanagan, head of sales and distribution at Sinking Ship.

The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy

“We are excited to be back in Cannes in person.”

—Kate Sanagan

Sixteen South Rights Odo / Ivory Towers / The Coop Troop A 2D animation for preschoolers, Sixteen South Rights’ Odo follows the adventures of the eponymous little owl and his best friend Doodle as they confidently tackle challenges. “Odo has already proven globally popular,” says Alexandros van Blanken, general manager of Sixteen South Rights. “And now, more than ever, its themes of acceptance and self-belief seem even more pertinent.” Currently in development, the comedy series Ivory Towers, set in an old folks’ home for animals, celebrates intergenerational relationships. The Coop Troop, a CGI comedy series for kids aged 6 to 9, follows the exploits of an unlikely team of farm animal heroes. “All of [these titles] touch on universal themes, delivering important messages relevant to young children everywhere through fun and engaging stories,” says van Blanken.

Odo

“Sixteen South turned 15 this year, and we are thrilled at what we’ve achieved in that time.”

—Alexandros van Blanken

Studio 100 Media Vegesaurs / SeaBelievers / FriendZSpace Studio 100 Media is introducing Vegesaurs, a series that takes kids to a land populated by Vegesaurs like the Tricarrotops named Ginger and her friends the baby Pea-Rexes. Each episode of SeaBelievers takes kids on an eco-adventure to save the ocean and the environment. FriendZSpace follows best friends and deep-space friend makers Alice, Leo and Kim and BotDog, a half-puppy and half-high-tech Swiss army knife. “Their mission is simple and wonderfully weird: locate planets, find alien kids, introduce themselves and make friends,” says Dorian Bühr, Studio 100 Media’s head of global distribution. He adds, “It is important, especially now, to bring forward and offer exceptional programs like Vegesaurs, SeaBelievers and FriendZSpace, representing great entertainment that conveys important and positive messages.”

Vegesaurs

“Our mission in the kids’ entertainment world is to bring brands to life that are content-driven and entertain kids and families.”

—Dorian Bühr 114 WORLD SCREEN 4/22

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Oggy Oggy

Xilam Animation Oggy Oggy / The Adventures of Bernie / Pfffirates Xilam Animation’s first CGI animated comedy series for preschoolers, Oggy Oggy sees Oggy and his cat pals head out on fun adventures in a colorful world. “The innovative series is a spin-off of our international hit franchise Oggy and the Cockroaches, and we’re sure it will capture buyers’ attention through its blend of fast-paced action and tender humor, as well as its adorable characters and bright visual style,” says Morgann Favennec, executive VP of distribution. A spin-off of Zig & Sharko, The Adventures of Bernie centers on the show’s beloved hermit crab character as he gets stuck at the bottom of the sea and must find a way to get back home. The CGI adventure comedy Pfffirates is set on Calypso Island, where three crews are taught pfffiracy by the legendary Captain Lamar.

ZDF Studios

“We’ll be heading to Cannes with some exciting new seasons, new series and new projects in our suitcase.”

—Morgann Favennec

Pettson and Findus

Pettson and Findus / Theodosia / Tilda Appleseed The ZDF Studios animated highlight Pettson and Findus follows the old and inventive farmer Pettson and his cat Findus, who always wants to discover and experience new and exciting things. “We are presenting 26 brand-new episodes full of creative, heartwarming and enjoyable stories,” says Fred Burcksen, president and CEO of ZDF Studios. A liveaction series, Theodosia takes its audience back to the year 1905, where 14-year-old Theodosia and her brother stumble on the mysterious Eye of Horus in a hidden tomb. Tilda Appleseed centers on a church mouse, her pet Snaily and best friends as they share exciting stories and tasty food.

“Tilda Appleseed and her friends are a wonderful ensemble that will immediately find a place in the hearts of all viewers of this lovingly animated series,” says Burcksen.

“Come and join Pettson and Findus on their new adventures.”

—Fred Burcksen

Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution

Yellow Yeti

Mumfie / Silverpoint / Yellow Yeti Based on Britt Allcroft’s Magic Adventures of Mumfie, the Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution highlight Mumfie features an optimistic young elephant and his friends Pinkey and Jelly Bean. The preschool series has recently launched on France 5 and Okoo. The live-action title Silverpoint is set at an adventure camp, where four friends stumble upon something buried in the woods that will turn their worlds upside down. “We are about to announce many new deals for Mumfie and Silverpoint, but some territories are still free to pick up,” says Delphine Dumont, chief commercial officer at Banijay Kids and Family, the parent company of Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution. “We are now ready to also share episodes of our newest comedy, Yellow Yeti, which many buyers are looking forward to fully reviewing.”

“We look forward to pursuing financing discussions for all of our developments face-to-face.”

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Serious Kids’ Bo & To’s Family.

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TV KIDS

Everyone is Welcome Diversity and inclusion have become broadcaster and platform must-haves; Mansha Daswani hears from content production and distribution execs on how they are responding.

A

ll kids deserve to see themselves reflected onscreen—it’s not rocket science. But execution?

That is a whole other story. The industry is still playing catch-up as it looks to (quickly) diversify writers’ rooms, attract new talent and find intelligent, creative ways to deliver inclusion without taking a paintby-numbers, quota-based approach to true representation.

“We are hearing from all major broadcasters that diversity and inclusion are key requirements,” says Genevieve Dexter, founder and CEO of Serious Kids. “I say major not because smaller platforms do not also share these policies, but because the majors are able to influence editorial choices. More recently, this requirement has been extended, not only on-screen but also in production talent as part of the commissioners’ brief. However, the interpretation has become more sophisticated, focusing on diversifying voices and cultural experience rather than reflecting purely racial and physical ability profiles.”

“Creating worlds in which children and families can authentically see themselves is what continues to drive viewership and keep our brands top of mind,” observes Fred Soulie, the senior VP and general manager of Mattel Television.

“It becomes key for most of our clients one way or another— it has to be there,” agrees Raphaëlle Mathieu, the senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media at Cyber Group Studios.

For Hanna Mouchez, the founder and CEO of MIAM ! animation, “Animation is one of the best [tools] we could use for transmitting a diversity and inclusion message. Schools are very important; maybe you listen to a teacher. But you also listen to a character. Heroes have this power.”

Matthew Berkowitz, the chief creative officer at Atomic Cartoons and president and chief creative officer of Thunderbird Entertainment, highlights the creative possibilities being ushered in by the industry’s embrace of diversity.

“Everyone is very excited about the many different viewpoints being incorporated into shows through behind- and on-camera talent. And having these different creative perspectives is about strengthening the storytelling. Collectively, we’re all breaking down those walls that existed in the past, and it’s so great to see.”

DEFINING DIVERSITY When speaking to executives about inclusion, a recurring theme is that the approach needs to be all-encompassing, not narrowly focused on one definition of diversity.

“It can be girl empowerment like in Droners or Digital Girl, where girls are the heroes,” says Mathieu at Cyber Group Studios. “It can be visible minorities. Diversity can be as simple as being different, and that can take many aspects. We believe it’s the global awareness of society that becomes central. In Droners, the eco-friendly issue is central.”

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Serious Kids’ Dexter adds, “Diversity and inclusion are starting to be woven into shows as part of their DNA rather than editorial decisions about how many different skin colors to feature on-screen. More diversity behind the camera automatically leads to more diversity, not only in terms of the characters but also the themes, environments, color

Mattel Television’s Deepa & Anoop, which is being animated in India, is set to premiere on Netflix.

palette, comedic tone and music. Diversity and inclusion cannot be the USP of a program, but achieving a balance in a natural way can.”

MIAM !’s Mouchez agrees that behind-the-camera diversity is key to getting your on-screen product to deliver on your inclusion goals. The studio and distribution outfit has emphasized strong female leads, which broadcasters and platforms have shown a keen interest in.

“That’s a good start, but it’s not enough,” Mouchez explains. “Even if you have women on-screen, it doesn’t mean that the writing is aligned with what you want to say.

For instance, you could have girls starring as heroes, yet the writing, episodes and adventures transmit old-fashioned patterns and stereotypes. The best way to avoid that is to welcome girls behind the screen as authors, scriptwriters, directors and producers.”

At Thunderbird and Atomic Cartoons, Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO, points to the PBS KIDS and CBC Kids commission Molly of Denali as an excellent example of how embracing diversity behind the scenes resulted in authentic on-screen representation.

“The series was developed with the Indigenous community of Denali,” Twiner McCarron explains. “And along with helping to inform how the next generation will think about Indigenous people, it also prioritizes the Indigenous community of Denali’s role in shaping its representation. More than 60 Indigenous mentorships took place during the creation and production of season one, and as we are now working on season two, many of these talented individuals are now working full-time in the industry.”

NO FAKES

Adapted from a comic book, MIAM ! animation’s Brazen profiles forgotten women who made history.

GBH and Atomic Cartoons produced Molly of Denali for PBS KIDS and CBC Kids.

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Authenticity is another recurring theme in conversations about diversity in television. “Kids have a very acute sense of what is real and what is fake, and they can react badly to diverse characters or situations that are not believable or appear one-dimensional,” states Dexter at Serious Kids.

“Once authenticity is achieved at the foundation, then success will come from the quality of the writing and design without interruption from new diversity concerns that should have been intrinsic in the concept.”

“Don’t try to add diversity and inclusion as a layer,” Berkowitz adds. “It’s a matter of thinking about every part of the creative and related themes as organic pieces of the whole.”

And authenticity will only come when your behind-thescenes team can accurately reflect the diverse messages you want to be conveyed on-screen.

“Before the pandemic, there was a need to have your talent all gathered under one roof—and that has changed,” Twiner McCarron adds. “We’ve proven that we can work very effectively off-site, so we are now able to recruit from further afield with an eye toward EDI [equity, diversity and inclusion].”

“As we search for talent, we’re digging deep and looking all over the world,” Berkowitz adds. “We’re putting more emphasis on mentorship and developing our in-house talent. We’re also looking for our next generation of animators through our focus on schools.”

Mattel Television has also prioritized diversifying its talent pool, Soulie explains. “We strive to work with experts in the stories we are telling in order to ensure cultural accuracy and sensitivity.”

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And the approach to authentic storytelling extends across the Mattel Television slate, Soulie notes, citing properties such as the rebooted Masters of the Universe franchise, Barbie-related content like the upcoming Barbie: It Takes Two for Netflix and the third-party show Deepa & Anoop. Even the perennial favorite Thomas & Friends has been updated to meet the needs of today. Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go has an expanded cast that includes Kana from Japan and Nia from Kenya.

Serious Kids has been working to diversify its catalog, Dexter reports, in recent years taking on Tik Tak, The New Legends of Monkey, Bo & To’s Family and Tulipop, “all of which have very diverse casts and crews. Our returning series Operation Ouch! from Maverick Television for CBBC, now in its 11th season, has always been diverse in terms of the doctors and patients featured but has recently welcomed Dr. Ronx Ikharia as one of the presenters, who is a trans, non-binary A&E doctor.”

At MIAM !, Mouchez says that Goat Girl is an excellent example of how the boutique studio approaches delivering diversity on-screen. A co-production with Daily Madness Productions, an Irish studio led by Lindsey Adams, the series “is about being comfortable in your own skin, being happy being you and embracing your differences and even your quirks,” Mouchez says. “The show is produced by an all-female team to remain coherent with the series’ storytelling and social ambitions.”

The MIAM ! lineup also includes Brazen, adapted from a comic book by Pénélope Bagieu, featuring 3-minute episodes about little-known women who changed history.

While the show has done well for MIAM !, Mouchez stresses that it was important for the company to highlight diverse shows aimed at younger demos. “Around 6 or 7 is when you integrate: Are you equal to boys, or are you different? We thought our catalog was missing those shows that address younger targets.”

Enter “A Girl’s Coming of Age Journey: Four Tales of Feminine Early Bravery,” a collection of four half-hour specials focused on young girl characters.

Cyber Group is similarly making sure that the full breadth of its slate touches on themes of diversity and inclusion, from the girl-empowerment and eco-friendly aspects of Droners to the mixed families in 50/50 Heroes and The McFire Family to the diverse talent behind the upcoming adaptation of the Press Start! novels for Peacock. “Diversity or awareness are present in every single series we’re doing,” Mathieu says.

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Cyber Group’s Droners features diverse characters and places environmental awareness at the center of the storytelling.

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ZDF Studios’ Space Nova.

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SMART! Mansha Daswani hears from leading producers and distributors about how best to incorporate science, technology, engineering, the arts and math into kids’ TV shows.

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mong the handful of silver linings from the past two years of pandemic-era disruptions, the reemergence of a robust educational core for kids’ TV shows has been a boon for the industry at large. Indeed, distributors who were lucky enough to have curriculum-based shows on their slates found a wave of new opportunities as school closures began to hit— and that demand has continued even as kids’ lives have in many markets begun returning to some degree of ordinary.

“The demand rose for STEM shows during the pandemic, with virtual learning a global requirement, which has helped to commercialize these types of series and made them more appealing to partners,” says Alison Taylor, the director of distribution and business development at Aardman.

“There is a lot of demand,” agrees Dominic Gardiner, the CEO of Jetpack Distribution. “Many broadcasters are already explicit with that demand and have been that way for a long time. Even those who have experience doing edutainment shows stepped up even more. There was demand from parents as well. And the industry reacted quite quickly. Even commercially minded broadcasters would have noticed it was very popular. At the end of the day, they’re all in the business of eyeballs. So if edutainment works, then why not do more of it?”

Other factors are happening in the background, notes Arne Lohmann, VP, junior, at ZDF Studios, such as NASA’s Moon to Mars initiative, which aims to send humans to the planet in the

2030s. “Space and understanding Earth’s place in the universe are major areas in the science education curriculum,” says Lohmann on the importance of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) foundation for kids’ TV shows. “This is most important in primary school, when students decide about the value of studying science. Seventy-five percent of the fastest-growing careers today require at least some STEM skills. Inspiration matters.”

SPECIAL ED And to be inspiring, STEM/STEAM-based shows need to get a lot of elements spot-on. Taylor mentions the basics of “strong and engaging” characters alongside “educational elements that are seamlessly integrated into the stories and touch upon characters’ traits and wants. This makes the educational side for kids not only easy and fun to digest, but also triggers their engagement with the characters beyond the show itself.”

Even when you do have all the elements in place, Jetpack’s Gardiner reports that sometimes when you’re pitching a STEM show, “your idea can be compared to pre-existing ones quite quickly. Once you even utter the word STEM, they may say, we have a STEM show! It’s frustrating because you know the world can exist with more than one STEM show. There’s almost that quota people have in their heads. It’s not strictly related to the audience’s appetite. And some channels could have edutainment all day. You have to be very distinctive. That 4/22 WORLD SCREEN 121

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Australian Space Agency has become an anchor for the audience to see an aspirational show about Australians in space. The series takes real science as a story starting point and expands it into a fantastical story encouraging questions like ‘what if.’”

SPACE AGE

Alice’s Diary is a new series from Jetpack that encourages preschoolers to learn through art.

point of difference needs to be clear in any educationally driven series.”

It also helps to have educators and experts on board, as SLR Productions did as it was making Space Nova, ZDF Studios’ lead STEM-based series, which features “rich science-learning sequences designed to target different learning ages and key science content,” Lohmann says.

“STEM involves critical thinking and problem-solving while also encouraging creativity. When taught at a young age, STEM encourages children to solve problems and think outside the box so that the skills they learn remain with them throughout their lives. Space Nova’s intended audience is 5- to 10-year-old girls and boys. The newly formed

The series does that through the adventures of siblings Jet and Adelaide as they venture through space with their parents looking for alien life forms. “Entertainment is always at the core of creating shows like Space Nova,” Lohmann adds. “However, combining STEM, especially in space, with science allows for the audience to see STEM in an entertaining way. We explore all kinds of areas: What is life like on other planets? What would it be like to have a robot as your best friend? How can AI and humans live and work together? What are sound and light like in space? The characters are also linked to key STEM themes and careers that you would find if you were in space.”

Jetpack’s Florida, meanwhile, focuses on the E in STEM, following a little girl living with her aunt, an ex-NASA scientist who runs a GEM (Gadgets of Everyday Marvel) shop. “Kids learn about where the item came from, what it was used for and how it works,” says Gardiner of the show, which hails from Paper Owl Films. “The emphasis is on storytelling, but the ‘how it works’ bit educates kids about engineering and science. There is also a great focus on imagination-based science and how you can invent a new tomorrow. It’s a show that can excite kids about engineering—the fun bits, like how magnets work and what a pendulum is; the real-world applications of science. For kids today, there’s no information you can’t find.

But the application of things in the physical world is

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something that kids probably don’t interact with in the same way as when we were growing up. Toys were based on scientific things. Now everything just comes out of the screen. We wanted to have principles of coding in the storytelling. We also wanted to match that with more classic science. We have new tech and old.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Aardman is touting Alphablocks and Numberblocks, which “help kids better understand (and love!) math, phonics and literacy,” Taylor explains. “Numberblocks and Alphablocks are unique in that numbers and letters come to life and help children learn in a fantastically visual way. Kids are learning without realizing they’re being taught, which is the ultimate goal of the educational shows we produce and distribute at Aardman.”

Aardman’s STEM-based shows, Taylor adds, were “developed in conjunction with the relevant educational experts.

This, alongside the strengths the animation studios bring to the development and production in terms of characters, story and humor, really help to achieve the perfect educational-entertainment output.”

Taylor also mentions the importance of edutainment shows promoting the arts, referencing Aardman’s upcoming rollout of Pop Paper City from LoveLove Films, “an adventure arts and crafts, ‘view-and-do’ series that inspires kids to join the characters in creating objects from paper as featured in each episode,” she says.

Jetpack, meanwhile, is unveiling Alice’s Diary. “The strapline is: Understanding the world through art,” Gardiner says. “Alice’s wonder, inquisitiveness and unique view on the world are shared with the audience through her off-beat, engaging conversations with her mum. And

as Alice talks, she draws, and her pictures become a captivating visualization of what she’s thinking. It’s animation about art. It’s one of those shows you’re drawn to because it’s so beautifully designed.”

The show, like many edutainment properties, targets preschoolers. Indeed, once you get into older kids’ demos, executing on a STEM- or STEAM-based curriculum can become much more challenging.

“To follow a curriculum, you have to have a broad approach because not all kids develop at the same rate,” Gardiner says. “Some subjects would be tough to get across in a story. It becomes factual. For younger kids, you can have a balance of story and education. And entertainment is the tone of it; it envelops it all. You can be completely madcap and irreverent and still have facts in there that kids can get out of it. When you get more into a factual show, the older kids appreciate it, but it really is education, and the entertainment gets dialed down. You have to be honest with older kids: This is a factual show that will help you with your schoolwork. The prominence is always the younger end. I’d say 95 percent of preschool shows have some loose curriculum.”

Lohmann at ZDF Studios emphasizes the importance of science—and wonder—in kids’ shows in general across a range of demos. “Scientists still have so many mysteries to solve when it comes to the universe,” he notes. “Their discoveries will help us to improve our everyday lives and better understand our planet and its role in the universe. Fostering a passion for space and space travel in children will lead to discoveries in the future that can benefit us all. Programming with STEM is important for audiences of all ages, to learn, inspire and be aspirational.”

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TV KIDS Summer Festival house Spread fin.qxp_Layout 1 3/7/22 4:05 PM Page 1

The TV KIDS SUMMER FESTIVAL is a four-day must-attend virtual event taking place a week prior to Annecy/MIFA and a month before Kidscreen Summit.

Taking place from June 7 to 10, 2022, the TV KIDS SUMMER FESTIVAL will feature keynotes and panels with leading executives and creatives discussing the major trends in the children’s programming business. It will be streamed live and available on-demand for two months on TVKidsSummerFestival.com.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Ricardo Guise at rguise@worldscreen.com or Dana Mattison at dmattison@worldscreen.com.

ay

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Photo: Ricky Middlesworth

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Kristen Bell

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illed with toe-tapping original songs spanning multiple genres, Do, Re & Mi follows the musical adventures of three best birdie friends—voiced by Kristen Bell, Jackie Tohn and Luke Youngblood. The preschool series is a production of Amazon Studios and Gaumont for Prime Video and Amazon Kids+. Bell, whose voice is instantly recognizable to little ones from her role as Anna in the Disney hit Frozen, is also an executive producer on the show. She tells TV Kids about the value of music education in children’s lives and the show’s ability to “sneak teach” important life lessons.

By Kristin Brzoznowski TV KIDS: What was the genesis of Do, Re & Mi, and how did the collaboration with Jackie Tohn and Gaumont come about?

BELL: Jackie Tohn has been one of my best friends for 15 years. She came over one afternoon and said, “I’ve been writing this show with my friend Michael [Scharf]. It’s got music for kids. Can I play it for your girls?” When I heard it, I immediately wanted to know more. She told me about the show—and particularly the idea that in the midst of public schools slashing music and art programs, a show like this would keep that alive in kids’ lives. I had previously seen studies that an early music education or exposure to music at an early age actually impacts everything about a child’s brain. It improves their mathematic scores; it improves their social-emotional relationships— it’s endless. I asked what she was doing with it, and she said, “We don’t really know yet.” I asked, Can I help you produce it? I called Gaumont. I thought they had been doing great work, and I knew they had a great animation facility. We met with them, and everyone was on the same page. It was 0 to 60 from there.

Photo: Ricky Middlesworth

TV KIDS: What are the challenges in voicing animated characters compared to on-screen acting?

BELL: It’s a bit of a paradox: Animated characters are infinitely easier and infinitely harder than on-screen characters. It’s easier because I get to go in my pajamas, and there’s no hubbub around the whole thing. There’s no hair and makeup. Eliminating the visual component reduces the strain immensely from my point of view. But the challenge is that I have one tool to tell the story with, one tool to ask the audience to go on this journey, to engage the audience with this story—and that tool is my voice. I have learned a lot of tricks, which have mainly been gut instincts, about the tone of my voice, the pace of my voice, how I’m forming the vowels in my mouth versus how they sound, to try to engage the audience and tell the maximum amount of emotion with a sound.

TV KIDS: Through this show and in your experiences with your own kids, what have you learned about the importance of music education for young ones?

BELL: This type of engagement with a show like this will help them learn music fundamentals because the show is talking about, under the guise of entertainment, music theory and vocabularies like beats, lyrics and tempo. It can help create an interest in music from an early age. By children having the opportunity to discover and interact with a variety of music genres in a meaningful way, it creates more cultural exposure. The developmental benefits of music education don’t just inspire a love and appreciation for music; from a brain-development perspective, it gives them a head start on so many other things, including cooperation and sharing. You make music how? With other people! You cooperate while making music; the drummer listens to the pianist, and the pianist listens to the violinist. Music can make you feel a certain way, so there’s social-emotional education. When you’re sad, could you put on a happy song and pump yourself up? Could you put on an even sadder song and get your cries out? It can change your mood; it has a major effect on things. To say nothing of counting and the mathematical benefits. I have allowed my kids to plunk on a piano and sing songs, and I’ve talked about a four-four measure versus a three-four. We’ve clapped it out in the car from a very early age. But I realize the privileged parenting that I’m accomplishing; I have the time to do that. If you’re a single mom with four kids and your public music education was cut, we wanted to make Do, Re & Mi to help you out and give your kids the head start that they deserve.

TV KIDS: What do you enjoy most about the songs in Do, Re & Mi, and who is coming up with them?

BELL: Jackie is writing the songs, along with David Schuler, who is a friend of hers. They’ve written music for a lot of different pop artists together. What I love most about the music in Do, Re & Mi is that it genuinely covers all genres.

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Gaumont’s Do, Re & Mi was commissioned for Prime Video and Amazon Kids+.

And I mean niche genres! It’s not just country, reggae and pop. We have an Olivia Newton-John episode.

There are songs from artists who have created a minigenre that is all their own.

Because Jackie and David write pop hooks for people that I would listen to on the radio and do listen to, none of the songs feel like the ones that are stuck in your head late at night because you walked by whatever television show your child was watching and now you feel like you can’t fall asleep because it’s on repeat. They’re actually really fun songs to sing. They are all a bit like a Justin Bieber hook or a Jason Aldean hook or a Bob Marley hook. They are interesting for adults as well. One of my main goals in this show was that I don’t want music that will be grating on adults; I want adults to be singing along and excited about this music as well. I don’t want adults to desire putting the television in the microwave.

TV KIDS: Tell me about some of the ancillary touchpoints of the series—from toys to books to gaming to teaching guides—and why those are important.

BELL: When we chose Jazwares to make the toys, it was because they had an engaging amount of musicality to each of their toys. It would allow the kids to be creating music.

They are actual instruments. We want kids to learn about music, but the goal with music is not to study and memorize; it’s to learn the fundaments, go in your bedroom and make it yourself because it has an incredibly positive impact, even if you’re only playing songs and writing songs that no one else will hear. That’s an outlet for kids.

As far as making toys that aren’t musical, the benefit is that the story stays alive, the engagement stays alive. My youngest daughter is particularly into stuffies; she loves them, she cares about them, she anthropomorphizes them, she takes them places. When we first got the prototypes of the Do, Re and Mi birds, we had to go to the grocery store later that day, and she put masks on all of them and took them with us because they were important people in her life. I think that’s really cute!

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With books, we have The Mysterious Beat, which retells the first episode of Do, Re & Mi in storybook form.

We know that any amount of repetition with kids creates a deeper understanding. With the paperback edition, we put in stickers for a higher level of engagement.

It’s all about keeping it alive in children’s lives from a story and engaging narrative perspective and not like they watched a show that was a lesson. It doesn’t come across like a teaching show, even though it is what Jackie and I call “sneak teaching.”

One of the most exciting things is that the mobile game, Do, Re & Mi: Musical Adventure, has multiple mini-games that incorporate aspects of music education such as following a beat, instrument identification and music vocabulary. It’s giving kids a leg up on the music education they deserve, whether they have it in their schools or not, and those skill sets will bleed into a lot of other forms of education and development for a child.

TV KIDS: What are some of the underlying themes the show imparts?

BELL: Cultural exposure and learning from it. One of the ways my kids are able to keep a growth mindset is that we expose them to a lot of different things— we try different cultures’ foods; we talk about Chinese New Year or the Hindu holiday Holi. We remind them that there are people who live in other parts of the world who we could learn more about. When you’re popping your bubble and not limiting your exposure, you have a greater sense of empathy and compassion for sharing Earth. From an emotional standpoint, from an intimate, interpersonal standpoint, music can affect the way you feel, and you can use it as a tool. If you wake up and are really tired, maybe put on a pop song. It might get you jazzed. It has the ability to change your feelings, exposing kids to the fact that there are tools out there to help them along the way.

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group of kids who discover that dragons are real. They seek to protect these dragons and keep them safe in a modern world that is not always friendly. It’s exciting and breathes new life into this incredible franchise to see modern kids with modern sensibilities riding these dragons. Different [series] require different approaches.

TV KIDS: How do you decide what animation style to use when reimagining some of these franchises?

GAL: Most of what we’ve done has been in CG. But on certain franchises, we’ve decided to pivot for the TV series and do it in 2D. Many different factors drive those decisions, but usually, we let the creatives speak to it. When you’re talking about a big-budget DreamWorks feature, sometimes everything you can achieve in CGI might be too challenging to do on a TV budget. If you have a show that is traveling a lot and is incredibly character- and location-heavy, sometimes we consider the change for production. But we don’t want to take this big, expansive world of a film and make it feel small by limiting locations. A lot of factors go into it, but we generally follow the passion of our showrunners, film directors and creative teams.

Peter Gal

DreamWorks Animation

By Anna Carugati

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reamWorks Animation has thrilled movie-goers with animated feature films full of adventure, quirky characters and lots of laughs for more than two decades. Under the direction of Peter Gal, the chief creative officer of television, the company has been extending some of the most famous film franchises into TV series. It also creates original stories for the small screen, offering a broad portfolio to linear channels and streaming platforms.

TV KIDS: Would you give us some examples of how you’ve taken characters from films and created a series around them?

GAL: We are very lucky to have a lot of IP to draw from, and each piece of IP requires its own strategy and examination.

The Croods: Family Tree picks up after the events of the second film, The Croods: A New Age. We felt that with these new characters introduced in the second film and the comedic conflict between this new family, the Bettermans, and our original family, the Croods, there was so much comedy to drive from that. So that became a comedy set in the world of that second film. It was a new environment that just needed more exploration. [The Dragons] franchise requires a different approach. There have already been three Dragons [feature] films. There have been a number of How to Train Your Dragon TV series, all of which were set in the Viking world. So, with Dragons: The Nine Realms, we felt it was time to do something new in television to eventize this new series. We brought the action forward 1,500 years out of Viking times into the modern day. The show is about a 132 WORLD SCREEN 4/22

TV KIDS: Do streaming services provide creative freedoms that you didn’t have in the linear world?

GAL: Absolutely. For my entire career in TV animation, when I worked for linear networks like Disney and Nickelodeon, serialized storytelling was incredibly challenging. The environment was unfriendly to it because they wanted to be able to replay the episodes over and over and out of order. Serialization just didn’t [fit] how those networks worked. Now, in streaming, you can embrace serialization in a different way. I don’t know how I would have even approached doing a series like Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous had it not been serialized, immersive storytelling. I don’t think I’d be excited about doing a straight episodic version of a show like that. [Given] the volume of animation being done by the streamers, I’m excited to see people taking some risks and trying things that are different.

TV KIDS: DreamWorks Animation provides programming to many outlets, and Peacock is a corporate cousin. Could you give some examples of how you decide on the right home for a given show?

GAL: We are a producer. We don’t greenlight our own shows. We have to sell them to partners. We generally follow the passion of the different platforms. Every platform has its own strategy, but the strategy comes down to the individuals who are the decision-makers at those platforms. The key buyers at Netflix are different people from the key buyers at Apple and Peacock, and they all have different tastes. We work hard to maintain a broad

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development slate and a lot of different projects tonally.

We have everything from the youngest preschool to bridge to older comedy to serialized adventure for the 6-to-8 age group, and serialized adventure that goes older, to [shows] that lean more teen. We try to manage the platforms by having a lot of different things always percolating up through the development pipeline. When a buyer says, I’m looking for a show that fits this tone or speaks to this part of the audience, we can step in and say, OK, we’ve got something that speaks to that. We listen to the buyers, and Peacock is very excitedly emerging as a significant buyer.

TV KIDS: In your development, how do you balance new ideas against what you can take from the library?

GAL: We try to have a healthy mix at all times. It’s hard because sometimes it feels like the business is pivoting one way or the other. Sometimes the market feels very driven by people only wanting known IP and shows that have that built-in marketing advantage. But then, a few months later, one of our buyers will surface and say, We’re craving something brand-new. Every franchise started as an original.

Obviously, we’re not going to overlook an opportunity to do something exciting based on DreamWorks or Universal IP. But we’re developing comedy originals. We’re also developing originals that are more in that serialized immersive storytelling space.

TV KIDS: Tell us about some of the partnerships you’ve initiated in the past year.

GAL: We’re always looking for great partnerships globally.

It’s more important than ever as a way to get top-quality work done. There’s more animation happening than ever.

We like to work with the best artists, wherever in the world we can find them, and with the best studios. That has led to incredible co-production opportunities. We’re producing Go, Dog. Go! in partnership with WildBrain. We had always

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loved the book. When we find a piece of IP that a studio somewhere else holds and that we really would love to play with them creatively on, we will pursue that opportunity. We respond very much to studios with a strong pool of artists, a strong creative point of view and a shared vision. We want to pursue more of those opportunities.

TV KIDS: How have you embraced diversity and inclusion?

GAL: I think we’ve been very thoughtful about it on-screen for quite some time. Animation takes years to get off the ground. Look at two of our biggest hits right now: Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, which features quite a diverse group of kids and a Black lead in Darius, and Gabby’s Dollhouse, which features a biracial lead in Gabby or Laila [Lockhart Kraner], as the actress is named. We’ve been thinking about putting diverse characters front and center on-screen for years. I think the biggest area for growth is behind the scenes on the talent side. We have worked hard over the past couple of years to ensure that the staff on each show have more diversity. Whenever there’s representation on-screen, we want to try and have some of that representation in the writers’ room or the directing staff. We’ve always looked at DreamWorks as a place where people can start and grow careers. We’re trying to build the next generation of talent. Like every studio now, we are looking for established and experienced female and diverse leadership for shows. We are attracting people to the studio, and at the same time, we’re trying to build the next generation of talent. When we decided to develop Jurassic World, taking one of the biggest, if not the biggest, family franchises in film history into animation, that was a great opportunity to say, We’re taking this commitment to diversity very seriously. We’re going to put characters of color front and center in a world in which they’ve not been. That’s emblematic of our passion for it.

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NBCUniversal Global Distribution is offering up the preschool series Gabby’s Dollhouse.

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Nick Park Aardman

By Anna Carugati

our-time Academy Award winner Nick Park, a codirector at Aardman, took a passion he had as a little boy and turned it into a fruitful and acclaimed career.

Driven by his love for animation, he created the characters of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, which have become beloved around the world. He talks to TV Kids about the advantages of claymation and imbuing animated characters with emotions even when there is no dialogue, and provides a sneak peek at the upcoming Chicken Run sequel.

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TV KIDS: When did you first become interested in animation?

PARK: I loved animation as a child. I always loved art and drawing cartoons, and I wanted to do comic strips. But then I discovered my parents’ home movie camera. It was a Bell & Howell 8mm—Standard 8mm, not even Super 8mm—and could take one frame at a time, which was unheard of back then. For me, living in this small northern English town, having access to an animation technique was quite a rare thing.

I didn’t know anyone who even worked in TV, never mind film, but I read books and my dad told me a bit about how to do it. I created my own cartoon characters. I made cut-outs in paper, cards and fuzzy felt and moved them around on a board. I made a handful of films when I was a kid, maybe even a dozen. I tried doing cartoons more like Disney’s, but I couldn’t afford the cells. I used tracing paper. I just watched animation, absorbed it and tried to emulate everything I saw, including stop-motion.

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TV KIDS: How did you start professionally?

PARK: I was at film school, the National Film and Television School, which is outside of London, and I was a big fan of Aardman, which then consisted of Peter Lord and David Sproxton, and maybe one or two others. They were venturing forth with their claymation and competing on the world stage with that. But they were very small and looking for animators. They took me on for a couple of summers as a student. There’s a character in the U.K. called Morph, which is our equivalent of Gumby. It was very big in the ’70s and the early ’80s. I got to animate him quite a bit. While I was at film school, I was developing these characters called Wallace and Gromit. Aardman kept offering me work, but I thought, Oh, I’ll never finish my graduation film if that happens. Eventually, I ran out of time at film school, and they said, Well, why don’t you come and finish your film with us? We’ll help you finish it if you work for us part-time. So that was a perfect solution. It took me another four years to finish A Grand Day Out. TV KIDS: Who or what served as inspirations for Wallace and Gromit? Did they spring from your imagination, or did they come from people you knew—or dogs you knew?

PARK: Well, a bit of both. I’m one of those people who absorbs everything. I loved all the stop-motion animation I grew up watching on British TV and in Eastern European films, or [from the] National Film Board of

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Canada, plus live-action comedy and cartoons like The Adventures of Tintin. Those were all influences. I always draw from my childhood. For A Grand Day Out, it was really a guy who builds a rocket in his basement.

It was an amalgamation of all these things that I loved and a story I wanted to tell. I hadn’t seen anything like it at the time, so that drew me to it as well.

TV KIDS: Gromit has the ability to express emotion even without speaking and so does Shaun the Sheep. How difficult is it to portray emotion in animated figures?

PARK: That’s a big question, and there are probably a number of answers. I was torn between the different techniques of animation that I wanted to do. The springboard for me was when I did a test of Gromit in A Grand Day Out at film school.

One of the first shots I did was Gromit, and he was stuck under a plank being sawed through by Wallace. He was being used as a trestle. Gromit was meant to have a mouth and behave more like a dog in the original script. Then I animated his brow, going up and down, looking really miffed about being stuck in this situation and being used as a thing. I was amazed at people’s reaction to that—there was so much emotion, pathos and feeling. That turned everything around for me because suddenly, he became, in a way, more human than Wallace. And that set up the whole relationship of master and dog. It was the strength of the eyebrow and the look in the eyes and not having a voice in the traditional sense. It brought forward the strength of mime and subtlety. What helped me choose clay was the subtlety and the humanity and minimalness of it all. There is another answer as well [and that is] you can do a lot with very little. Shaun the Sheep is a little harder because he doesn’t have the brow. But there are still things you can do with him—the way he may pose his head or move or even blink or react. There’s that movement in the neck.

TV KIDS: It’s very clear what Shaun is thinking and he’s a cheeky little fellow! What gives him such universal appeal?

PARK: He appeared in A Close Shave, the third Wallace and Gromit short. He was very much a victim that needed to be saved. He was cute-looking and innocent and turned into a bit of a hero as well. The two elements for me are his cute wide-eyed look, but also, he can be quite cool. I think he’s quite a cool design, and he developed that coolness a lot more in the series.

TV KIDS: What are the advantages and challenges of no dialogue?

PARK: With Gromit, it helps to have Wallace be able to speak. A lot of the situations are caused by Wallace; he’s the catalyst and the agent of chaos in Gromit’s world. We are very much seeing Gromit react to Wallace’s stupidity; it all hinges upon that. When we’re storyboarding, it’s Gromit’s story. Everything depends on what and how he reacts to anything because he’s the protagonist. The audience sees everything through his eyes. Shaun is equally a protagonist but doesn’t have that luxury of any dialogue.

He did in A Close Shave. But not since he’s had his own

series. My colleague Richard Starzak set up that series and directed it. At the time, he and the team decided no dialogue would make it far more international to sell overseas, which has worked very well. But it means the visual storytelling has to be very crisp and that is always very much a challenge. But the philosophy is that we should be able to follow the story without any dialogue at all.

TV KIDS: Whether Wallace and Gromit or Shaun the Sheep, how have you found ways to continue to tell new stories?

PARK: In the case of Wallace and Gromit, because they don’t have a regular series, we very much wait for a new idea to come. I’m often just waiting for those lightning strikes. I have a lot of ideas, but it’s which ones make the story, which ones have legs and lend themselves to tell the story that you really want to tell. With Shaun, because he’s had his own series for quite a while now, when we’ve needed more stories, we have brought in other writing teams. I’ve contributed a couple of story ideas. I can’t remember how many there are now. There are over 100 different Shaun the Sheep episodes, and we’re constantly coming up with more stuff. We had a new one out this [past] Christmas on BBC. TV KIDS: What can you tell us about the upcoming Chicken Run movie?

PARK: It’s very exciting! I guess it’s been 20 years since we made the first one. It’s been a great tale that’s become a classic over the years. A longtime colleague of ours, Sam Fell, is directing. It’s Ginger and Rocky again, and the whole gang of chickens that we knew from the first movie. And the rats are back again. It picks up from shortly after the last film, when Rocky and Ginger and the chickens have found their paradise and freedom on this private island where no humans come, are self-sufficient and living the perfect life. Ginger and Rocky have a daughter called Molly. Ginger’s thing is how to keep Molly safe and not let her ever on the mainland until they discover something quite sinister going on close by, which threatens chicken-kind. They need to do a rescue mission. This time they’re breaking in, [instead of flying away].

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A Close Shave is the third film featuring the beloved Wallace and Gromit, who will be returning for a new Netflix feature.

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he first generation of KiKA viewers have children of their own now. The service, then known as Der Kinderkanal, arrived in Germany on January 1, 1997, as a joint venture of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. Its mission is as clear today as it was then, despite the radical transformation of the media landscape it exists in: deliver relevant, parent-approved content for kids aged 3 to 13 in a safe, ad-free environment. While it once lagged behind its commercial competitors, KiKA marks its 25th birthday as a market leader, entertaining and educating German kids with live-action and animated series, movies, magazine shows, documentaries and more. The KiKA DNA has been extended well beyond the linear screen, Astrid Plenk, the service’s managing and programming director, tells TV Kids in this special 25th-anniversary report. “Even when acceptance of linear programming tends to be on the wane, KiKA has been able to grow with its viewership,” Plenk says. “At KiKA, the new digital platforms are placed on an equal footing with the classic output path, television.”

To serve its viewers across multiple screens, KiKA has been investing in its own local productions, partnering as a co-producer on compelling new ideas and actively seeking the best the global market has to offer. “It is important that children can both relate to the programs from their own experiences and are taken beyond them to see other children’s lives locally and across the world,” says Sebastian Debertin, the head of international content acquisitions in the programming and management department. “While it is crucial for us to locally produce programs to ensure our viewers can find themselves represented onscreen, we are excited to offer them co-productions and acquisitions from further afield. We are interested in programs that are entertaining and informative, that bring joy to our viewers and promote values such as empathy, kindness, community, open-mindedness, diversity, inclusion, sustainability and creativity, without indulging stereotypes or merely ticking boxes. It is part of our mission to ensure that KiKA is a secure media space where children are considered for all that they are and where all are welcome. We offer content that takes children seriously.”

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Astrid Plenk

mid school closures and canceled playdates, parents across the globe were eager for safe, educationally enriching destinations to put their kids in front of as they juggled their own work-from-home concerns at the onset of the pandemic. KiKA, like so many pubcasters worldwide, made sure that young ones and their caregivers knew that it was going to be there to make things just a little bit easier. As Astrid Plenk, KiKA’s managing and programming director, tells TV Kids, KiKA was established with a mission to inform, educate and entertain, a 25-year-old mandate that extends across all of its numerous platforms.

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TV KIDS: What have been the most significant evolutions at KiKA since its launch in the German market 25 years ago?

PLENK: In 2021, KiKA was, for the third time in a row, the leader of the linear market in transmission slots for 3- to 13-year-olds. According to recent surveys, we came out number one in terms of image ranking ahead of Netflix and others, with KiKA having the full confidence of children and parents. From out of this successful and strong linear position, we have been gradually developing digital platforms, all of which display that particular KiKA DNA. The results have also proven that KiKA is indispensable as a digital brand. We will continue to establish the KiKA sphere in the nonlinear world and thus adapt it to our viewership’s ever-changing usage patterns.

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TV KIDS: How do you tap into the resources of KiKA’s coowners, ARD and ZDF? And how do you collaborate with these entities?

PLENK: Being Germany’s most successful and popular children’s medium, KiKA plays a pivotal role in children’s everyday media lives. The objective is to maintain and further expand that position. As the leading medium under public law for offers of a range of children’s contents, we cooperate, as part of a strong and friendly network of colleagues, with the editorial boards in charge of children’s programming for ARD and ZDF. Work involving formats and planning will be done by way of direct coordination, and portfolio gaps will be identified, with major brands being

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we swiftly derive the range we can offer. The usage volume of 200 million video retrievals in the past year is powerful proof of the success of the digital KiKA platforms and offerings kika.de, kikaninchen.de, KiKAPlayer, KiKANiNCHEN app and HbbTV. But we will also continue to bolster our linear pillar to reach all 3- to 13-year-olds, even those children who do not have a smartphone, tablet or notebook of their own.

Zodiak Kids and Family Distribution sealed a prebuy deal with KiKA for the preschool series Mumfie.

cultivated and developed further. The KiKA-Player app (with 1.5 million downloads at present) will be implemented in the ARD and ZDF Mediathek [ondemand services] as well.

TV KIDS: How has KiKA’s mission changed over the years, as the overall environment in which kids grow up has also changed?

PLENK: For this service under public law, the mission to inform, educate, advise and entertain children aged between 3 and 13 years, and at the same time to meet their needs, has not changed in the past 25 years. But the mode of implementation has been adapted continually to the evolving requirements of the viewership. After all, the media usage behavior of our young target group is subject to constant change. It is that change from which

TV KIDS: How do you see viewership trends evolving?

How important is linear for your overall range of offers?

PLENK: For the third time in a row, KiKA comes out the market leader, growing by a linear 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. Even within the sub-target groups—in the preschooler segment, with elementary-school kids and preteens aged from 10 years upward—KiKA is right in front in terms of popularity with viewers, just as during prime time between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Even when acceptance of linear programming tends to be on the wane, KiKA has been able to grow with its viewership. At KiKA, the new digital platforms are placed on an equal footing with the classic output path, television. Structurally, then, we develop further but will not lose touch with anybody.

TV KIDS: What does KiKA offer kids that they cannot find elsewhere?

PLENK: Cross-platform quality and diversity, proximity to their own living environment, authenticity and programming without advertising are convincing to children and their parents. At KiKA, children have always played the most important role, whether inside or outside of a program. In addition, interaction and

KiKA’s Sebastian Debertin is among the executive producers on Odo, a hand-drawn animated series produced by Sixteen South and Polish studio Letko.

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KiKA is among a number of pubcasters on board Dog Loves Books, a preschool series from iGeneration Studios.

participation are central concerns guiding our ideas related to developing projects. Across a large number of formats and platforms, we can offer the most varied and diverse approaches: from voting to chats, as creatives for ENE MENE BU (on KiKA), as songwriters for Dein Song (Your Song on ZDF), up to and including the co-creation of content; we will be integrating children, allowing for true participation. In its anniversary year, 2022, KiKA, with its children’s advisory board, will throughout the year provide participants with pivotal insights into the work of various editorial boards, offering an opportunity for co-determination.

TV KIDS: What is driving KiKA’s continued leadership position among kids and families?

PLENK: The children’s channel of ARD and ZDF, with its high usage and acceptance figures, is tipped for

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success. According to very recent results of an image survey conducted among 3- to 13-year-olds and their mothers, KiKA in 2021 was also the “most popular media offering,” thus taking first place ahead of, among others, Netflix and Super RTL. The carefully curated and imaginative preschoolers’ world for media beginners, the guiding and diverse offers of knowledge for elementary-school children and the extensive world of subjects for preteens are shaping and characterizing KiKA’s overall portfolio.

Traditional brands are developed further with care, with open space for innovation. This is certainly not always easy when subjects and framework conditions in the media attract and bind lots of attention. We give children our undivided attention.

TV KIDS: What are the greatest challenges and opportunities for KiKA in the year ahead?

PLENK: Keeping well-established brands such as Schloss Einstein (Einstein Castle; MDR/ARD/KiKA), Die beste Klasse Deutschlands (The Best Class in Germany; KiKA/hr/ARD) and Löwenzahn (Dandelion; ZDF) interesting for coming generations as well, and at the same time, preserving the brand essence certainly presents a challenge. We are focusing on permanent brand modernization. For new digital products, we collaborate with children to create a needs-oriented range of offers. What is going well? What should be going differently? In all these challenges, the opportunities and chances offered by digital change predominate. For instance, new sharing practices are developing in terms of participation and interaction.

Diversity is also an important subject that we are going to extend further. We define diversity as a special value and central foundation for the common good, for which we advocate both in terms of programming and outside of programming.

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KiKA’s extensive preschool lineup includes Sesame Workshop and Nelvana’s Esme & Roy.

TV KIDS: How is the overall financing situation for public broadcasting in Germany?

PLENK: The statutory mission of broadcasting stations is to provide as many people as possible, on a daily basis, with information, education, advice and entertainment. For the broadcasters to meet these requirements independently, the broadcasting fee is intended to fund ARD, ZDF and KiKA. The range of offers is as diverse as the interests of the people using it. Independence contributes to ensuring the diversity and quality of public-service broadcasting today and in the future.

TV KIDS: How important are collaborations with other pubcasters today as KiKA ensures it has access to the best properties the international market has to offer?

PLENK: For many years now, we have been working successfully, in a large variety of ways, with the European Broadcasting Union. International exchanges between editorial boards inspire people with ideas and help realize projects. The preschool documentary series ICH bin ICH (KiKA), in this context, can be named as a successful offer that also reflects content produced by colleagues in different countries. KiKA also participates in projects such as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (NDR/KiKA) and the #SayHi international friendship campaign. Partners are important to us, both regionally and internationally. International formats play an important role in further developing our portfolio of offers. Animation produced across countries reflects diversity, both during their gestation

process and in the product. As an example of this, KiKA will, from April onward, be premiering the new series Die Schlümpfe (The Smurfs), a real highlight.

They stand for strong values and big emotions and therefore fit in excellently with KiKA. A large part of our portfolio, though, is created in Germany and Thuringia as a media location, right in front of our door, as it were.

KiKA is set to bring I.M.P.S.’s new The Smurfs series to German audiences as a co-pro partner.

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aving been with KiKA since its inception, Sebastian Debertin has been instrumental in crafting a programming strategy that has evolved as the needs of children have over the last 25 years. The fundamentals of delivering a strong lineup of educational and entertaining fare haven’t changed. But the media ecosystem is radically different, and so are the challenges children are facing today. Debertin, the head of international content acquisitions, tells TV Kids about what’s resonating with KiKA’s audiences and outlines his wish lists for co-productions and acquisitions in the months ahead.

Sebastian Debertin TV KIDS: What’s been resonating with your audiences over the last year?

DEBERTIN: Our programming in 2021 still was strongly influenced by the need to support kids’ lives [during Covid-19]. In 2020, we quickly adapted large parts of our programming to meet the changed needs of our audiences as children of all ages had to stay at home, being homeschooled for many, many months. We also immediately created appropriate campaigns, letting the kids know that we all are standing together in this crisis. And, besides all these measures of support, laughter and fun were needed too. From Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood to The New Adventures of Peter Pan, our audiences were fond of exciting new versions of classic stories—as the ratings show. The lively adaptation of Axel Scheffler’s beloved book series Pip and Posy made our youngest audiences’ eyes glance, thanks to ZDF! Last year, our partner WDR celebrated the 50th anniversary of Die Sendung mit der Maus. This true TV phenomenon has informed and entertained generations of viewers with a combination of animated stories and live-action explorations of how things work. While the knowledge-sharing and experiment-loving programs Checker Tobi and Checker Julian have resonated with older children, Baumhaus and Sandman [Unser Sandmännchen] have delighted our youngest with interactive fun and bedtime stories. KiKA co-productions like Dog Loves Books and Insectibles and WDR’s co-production Power Players have also done extremely well. ZDF’s Löwenzahn and Petronella Apfelmus remain favorites, too. In 2021, we also broadcast a highly anticipated new season of Schloss

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Einstein (ARD/MDR), our popular, long-running live-action series about a boarding school. [A new season of] Die Pfefferkörner (NDR), about a group of child detectives, premiered too. Besides many other premieres, there was also a new season of the Dutch series Floor Rules! (NDR), which surely brought a lot of much-needed laugh-out-loud moments to our viewers. We happily also received great feedback for our anti-racism comedy MOOOMENT!, which unpicks everyday situations and provides children with ways of recognizing and dealing with racism.

TV KIDS: Tell us about the approach to acquisitions. There’s so much content out there; what do you look for?

DEBERTIN: As a public broadcaster, we provide content for 3- to 13-year-olds that educates, informs and entertains. So we are looking for a variety of programs for the different age groups. It is important that children can both relate to the programs from their own experiences and are taken beyond them to see other children’s lives locally and across the world. While it is crucial for us to locally produce fiction and nonfiction programs to ensure our viewers can find themselves represented on-screen, we are excited to offer them co-productions and acquisitions from further afield.

We are interested in fiction and nonfiction programs that are entertaining and informative, that bring joy to our viewers and promote values such as empathy, kindness, community, open-mindedness, diversity, inclusion, sustainability and creativity, without indulging stereotypes or merely ticking boxes. It is part of our mission to ensure that KiKA is a secure media space where children are

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KiKA was among the partners on Cyber Group Studios’ Zorro the Chronicles.

KiKA airs a number of local and international live-action titles, including Sinking Ship Entertainment’s Endlings.

considered for all that they are and where all are welcome.

We offer content that takes children seriously.

TV KIDS: How much more complicated is the rights situation today?

DEBERTIN: The rights situation has always been complicated.

A more recent hurdle for us is the German media law, which favors European productions, co-productions and especially acquisitions. For example, we cannot use acquisitions from outside of Europe for our nonlinear platforms— truly problematic on the way into a completely digital media world. The audience does not understand this limitation, which means we have to work on this.

TV KIDS: With the global streamers taking all rights, how has that impacted KiKA’s access to the best content?

DEBERTIN: The best approach here is not to fall into the trap of competing with them. Instead, we go on building

our strong programs and brands as we have done for 25 years now, with the help of our shareholders and partners at ARD and ZDF, and through appropriate coproductions with local producers in Germany and Europe as well as worldwide.

TV KIDS: Tell us about the co-pros strategy.

DEBERTIN: Early involvement is key for ensuring that a project, for example, from another continent, will work for our audiences. At the same time, we also keep an eye on its international appeal. This makes co-productions successful—for us locally and our partners abroad. The result is that our co-pro partners will be interested in doing more shows with German co-pro partners, whether producers or broadcasters/content providers like KiKA, ARD or ZDF. I always feel truly satisfied when the shows work for our audience and pay off for our various co-producers internationally, too! Besides, co-productions are a great way of getting the most talented and skillful people to work together and create the best possible program.

TV KIDS: What are some of your original production initiatives for local content?

DEBERTIN: Since 2013, we have been part of Der besondere Kinderfilm, a funding model run by public broadcasters and the film industry, with state and regional funding. It supports the creation of films for children that are unique, closely reflect the lived experience of children today and contribute to the diversity of film offerings for the young. One of the most recent films to come out of this project is Träume sind wie wilde Tiger (Dreams Are Like Wild Tigers), which KiKA co-produced with NFP Media. It’s about a 12-year-old boy who, having just moved from Mumbai to Berlin with his family and facing difficulties in his new city, does everything he can to pursue his dream of succeeding at a Bollywood casting. This is an exciting, radiant film about belonging and unlikely friendships, with great dance moves, first premiering in German cinemas, and we can’t wait for it to come to

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dance and song competitions. MOOOMENT!, which I mentioned earlier, is another great example of local content, rooted in research conducted into children’s experiences of racism in Germany.

Wissper from Studio 100 Media is part of the KiKA offering.

KiKA. We also have long-running reality shows and documentary series that provide children with opportunities to share their perspectives. In Die Mädchen-WG, Die JungsWG and Die Mixed-WG, groups of teenagers from across Germany spend time living together in a new place (from Lake Garda to the Tyrolean mountains to Valencia), getting to know each other and solving tasks. In Schau in meine Welt!, children show the viewers how they live, their interests, hobbies and challenges in Germany and abroad. Formats like PUR+, Checkpoint, Wissen macht Ah!, Team Timster, logo! and Kummerkasten fuel our viewers’ curiosity about everything from everyday life to science, politics and media by asking scientific questions, experimenting and offering reliable and accessible information and emotional support. We also have successful game shows such as the popular quiz Die beste Klasse Deutschlands and music,

TV KIDS: What’s been the hardest gap to fill in your programming needs?

DEBERTIN: Shows that cleverly and intelligently address sensitive topics that resonate with our 8-plus audience and do not scare them away will continue to be the biggest challenge. Getting enough appropriate feature films can be difficult as we have three slots a week to fill. This is one reason we became an initiating partner of Der besondere Kinderfilm. We want to offer a broad mix, with animated features for the whole family and live-action feature films that transport sensitive issues appropriately for kids. Often, producers or distributors think a film about childhood is a film for children, which we don’t always find to be true!

Furthermore, we are working on identifying successors for funny shows like The Garfield Show (from Mediatoon Distribution) for our after-school slot, which is a tricky but fun task!

TV KIDS: As we head into MIPTV, are there any particular types of shows you’re looking for?

DEBERTIN: As you can see, we offer a broad variety of programs to make sure that everyone can find something that appeals to them and discover new things. We have game shows, science programs, cooking and crafting tips and other how-to content; documentaries about children’s lives, historical figures, festivities and places; dramas, sci-fi, fantasy, detective stories, horse adventures; sports series; and everyday school and home life comedies. We broadcast

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are animated and live-action feature films for a 6plus and family audience.

TV KIDS: Do you foresee any shifts in your programming strategy in the next year?

DEBERTIN: Changes and shifts have always been part of our programming strategy—in the last three years as well as in the 22 years before. We want to stay close to the topics and experiences that matter to children in a constantly changing world.

Gaumont’s Belle and Sebastian is among the well-known brands that have been successful for KiKA.

fiction, nonfiction, animated and live-action series, specials and features. In other words, we are always interested in programs across genres and topics that fit the criteria and values I outlined above. Everything that will interest children, affect them, concern them and fill them with enthusiasm is on our list—stories for children, about children, by children, with children. Stories that will touch hearts, open up worlds, invite them on fantastic journeys, widen horizons, have tangible connections with life, or are simply just fun like our co-pro The Smurfs! We are particularly looking for entertaining animated and live-action series for our afternoon slots. While we are quite well-covered in preschool programs, we still look at everything to find those gems we cannot miss out on, as we did lately with the Sixteen South animated series Odo or Zodiak Kids’ Mumfie.

And finally, one of our biggest demands at the moment

TV KIDS: You’ve been with KiKA since day one. What are you most proud of as you reflect on the past 25 years?

DEBERTIN: In 25 years, a lot has happened, for sure, in our industry as well as at KiKA. I am proud that we are a market leader in German-speaking Europe while offering entertaining and educational programs. In contrast, others, who concentrated on pure entertainment and failed, are now copying KiKA. And yes, I am also very proud of having brought a lot of great shows and huge hits to KiKA that became big brands! Yakari, Fireman Sam, Guess How Much I Love You, Mouk, Tib & Tumtum, Chloe’s Closet, Super Wings, Care Bears, The Cat in the Hat, Franklin, Blinky Bill, Lily’s Driftwood Bay and many more. Of course, The Smurfs! I have the pleasure to be working with the best people in our industry as well as at ARD and ZDF. And I am proud of always being true to the most important audience in the world: kids. With kids’ media, we can enrich kids’ perspectives and understanding of the world to help them become strong and self-confident and to make responsible decisions for themselves and others. To me, that is a wonderful and absolutely rewarding thing!

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Regarding [our] strategy, it takes a little bit of time to get content out. What we saw in 2021 were the results of a seed we had planted a couple of years prior. We have one of the largest libraries of IP at Mattel. Creating compelling content takes a bit of time. But we’ve been very busy in the last few years focusing on becoming a high-performing, IP-driven toy company. We were very happy with 2021, but 2022 will be even bigger.

Fred Soulie Mattel Television

By Anna Carugati

attel has been focused on becoming an IP-driven toy company for the past few years. Some of its well-known franchises have already come to life as feature films. Fred Soulie, the senior VP and general manager of Mattel Television, is leading the effort to bring several of the most iconic brands to the small screen while also offering young viewers new shows.

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TV KIDS: Mattel Television has been ramping up its development and production. What motivated the strategy?

SOULIE: 2021 was the biggest year on record for Mattel and Mattel Television on the content side. We debuted more than nine series and specials based on our iconic IP. First was the big relaunch of the Masters of the Universe franchise with two different series. Then we had two Barbie animated movies, and then finally, the big relaunch of Thomas & Friends with a brand-new series where we changed the look a little bit. It was a big year, and it’s not just the quantity, but also the quality and the response from the audience, which was beyond our expectations.

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TV KIDS: You and your teams have also moved beyond existing IP and produced shows based on new ideas.

SOULIE: Indeed. We look at [our library] as a living, breathing thing. It grew over time. It was different five years ago, ten years ago. At Mattel Television, we feel it’s part of our responsibility to nurture it and make it grow—whether it’s creating new IP internally or sometimes we are presented with IP from other studios. Sometimes we auction, or we acquire. One great example is a show called Deepa & Anoop. It’s launching later this year on Netflix. This is a great illustration of Mattel going beyond what we already own in our library. This is a brand-new original preschool series that follows the adventures of a 7-year-old girl named Deepa and her best friend, a color-changing elephant. It’s all set in an Indian family’s bed-and-breakfast, and we follow their adventures. What’s great about this show is that it gives kids all over the world the opportunity to experience South Asian culture in a different way. We’re excited to be partnering with Netflix on a global level. It’s an important series for Mattel because it shows how focused we are on telling authentic stories from diverse voices in all areas of production. The ultimate goal is to represent the world kids see around them. This is our first Mattel Television original project. A call to action to the industry: We are always looking for more.

TV KIDS: Thomas & Friends continues to appeal to children. How have your teams woven important life lessons into the stories, and why has that been important?

SOULIE: In the DNA of Thomas, the value of friendship resonates with kids but also with parents and caregivers. These are important messages. We now have 25 seasons of Thomas. All have stayed true to the core of the DNA. What we did a couple of years ago, though, was to try to rethink Thomas: Where do we want to take Thomas next? Historically, Thomas has always been CG, very realistic, and we thought, what would it look like if we went more cartoony in a 2D animated way? We did some tests, and we loved what we could do with it. There was a lot more physical comedy. The expressions of Thomas and the other engines could be taken to a different place. We could do a lot more with the content while keeping it very simple. In terms of the life lessons, we went back to the basics. We took these 26 life lessons from The Railway Series books first introduced in 1945. We went back and looked at the DNA, focusing on three pillars of early childhood development: social-emotional, cognitive and physical skills. These are important, and they complement the action and the fun very well.

And we wanted to broaden the reach of Thomas. We expanded the distribution. We are now airing that new season, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, in 150 countries and adding more every day.

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