{"id":20344,"date":"2021-03-26T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2021-03-29T08:44:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T12:44:04","slug":"mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattel\u2019s Christopher Keenan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Christopher Keenan, senior VP of content development and production and executive producer at Mattel Television, tells <\/em>TV Kids<em> about <\/em>Thomas &amp; Friends: All Engines Go<em> and weighs in on how to make an impact in the crowded preschool content landscape.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For 75 years, Thomas the Tank Engine has been a beloved best friend for preschoolers across the globe. The plucky locomotive and his friends are getting a brand-new look in the upcoming <em>Thomas &amp; Friends: All Engines Go<\/em>. Produced by Mattel Television in partnership with Nelvana Studio, the series is slated to roll out on Netflix in October.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/img\/2021-03-25-Christopher-Keenan-Profile-Photo.jpg\" alt=\"***Image***\" width=\"160\" height=\"239\" \/><strong>TV KIDS:<\/strong> What are some of your key preschool titles?<br \/>\n<strong>KEENAN:<\/strong> Mattel Television is developing and producing a variety of compelling preschool titles. One of the highlights is <em>Thomas &amp; Friends: All Engines Go<\/em>.\u00a0Produced in vibrant, 2D animation in partnership with Corus Entertainment\u2019s\u00a0Nelvana Studio, this show brings an entirely new creative approach to Thomas series content, which first premiered in 1984. With new art direction, more physical comedy and a greater range of character expressiveness, this fast and colorful show is crafted to appeal to contemporary audiences\u2019 sensibilities while, of course, maintaining Thomas content\u2019s core ethos: the great importance of friendship.<\/p>\n<p>Another popular preschool series globally is <em>Fireman Sam<\/em>, now in season 12, which follows the adventures of Fireman Sam and his heroic team of firefighters and first responders in the fictional and catastrophe-ridden town of Pontypandy.<\/p>\n<p>And, we are developing other series and specials inspired by the iconic preschool properties in our portfolio, as well as some other new concepts and characters that we\u2019ll be rolling out soon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV KIDS:<\/strong> In a crowded market, what does a preschool show need to stand out, both for broadcasters\/platforms and audiences?<br \/>\n<strong>KEENAN:<\/strong> Entertainment for preschoolers stands out most when it showcases characters who are relatable and aspirational for this young audience. When children are able to identify with these stories and want to spend time with the characters\u2014whether they\u2019re heroes, friends or just make them laugh (ideally, all three)\u2014they are much more likely to place a show at the top of their list of favorites. And, if they can continue the engagement with these characters by playing out their stories when not watching the show, a series truly stands out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV KIDS:<\/strong> What are some of the new trends you see emerging in the preschool space?<br \/>\n<strong>KEENAN:<\/strong> One of the most common, current trends in preschool programming is a movement toward content that helps with kids\u2019 social and emotional development, introducing themes such as navigating emotions, dealing with disappointment and resolving conflicts. Parents and caregivers are also looking for programming that is top-notch entertainment for their preschoolers and are often turning to trusted, nostalgic brands to provide this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV KIDS:<\/strong> What impact has the pandemic had on overall demand for the genre in the last year, with young ones spending so much more time at home?<br \/>\n<strong>KEENAN:<\/strong> As families spent more time at home in 2020, parents and caregivers sought out programming that delivered meaningful and substantive content without compromising on the entertainment value. To that end, we saw significant consumer excitement for our <em>Thomas &amp; Friends<\/em>early learning and birthday-themed content on YouTube as well as our series content on other platforms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV KIDS:<\/strong> How important are digital extensions\u2014picture books, games, etc.\u2014when developing and distributing a preschool property?<br \/>\n<strong>KEENAN:<\/strong> Extremely. Preschoolers want to interact with their favorite characters in different ways. That\u2019s why we take a franchise approach to content, ensuring we extend these brands and enable children to interact with their favorite characters in as many ways as possible, including the television show, toys, books, short-form content, games and more. <em>Thomas &amp; Friends<\/em> is a great example of this. Last year, we celebrated Thomas\u2019 75th anniversary and we launched new content across many platforms, including four made-for-YouTube series, a <em>Thomas &amp; Friends Storytime<\/em> podcast, a partnership with the wellness app Calm and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The senior VP of content development and production and executive producer talks about Thomas &amp; Friends: All Engines Go and how to make an impact in the crowded preschool content landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":20345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21],"tags":[1007,4266,5875],"class_list":["post-20344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-christopher-keenan","tag-mattel-television","tag-thomas-friends-all-engines-go","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mattel\u2019s Christopher Keenan - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mattel\u2019s Christopher Keenan - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The senior VP of content development and production and executive producer talks about Thomas &amp; Friends: All Engines Go and how to make an impact in the crowded preschool content landscape.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-26T13:00:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-29T12:44:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2017\/07\/Christopher-Keenan-Profile-Photo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"369\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/\",\"name\":\"Mattel\u2019s Christopher Keenan - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-26T13:00:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-29T12:44:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mattels-christopher-keenan-talks-preschool-trends\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mattel\u2019s Christopher Keenan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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