Short takes

With so many toys finding their way to market through TV channels, Playthings took a closer look at children's programming. Josh Selig, an Emmy-winning children's TV writer, provides us with insight. He is creator and executive producer of Oobi! on Noggin and Linny the Guinea Pig on Nick Jr. In addition to 10 Emmys for his work as a writer on Sesame Street, he has also won a Humanitas Award for his work as headwriter for Little Bill on Nick Jr. Selig currently has new projects in production with Playhouse Disney and Nick Jr.

Playthings: How did you get started in the business of kid's programming?

Josh Selig: I began my career in preschool television as a child-actor on Sesame Street when I was three years old. I returned to Sesame Street in my early twenties, first as a writer, then as a filmmaker and finally as a producer for Sesame Street International. Now I am 40, and I make preschool shows of my own through my Tribeca-based production company, Little Airplane Productions. I still believe in Big Bird, and I know firsthand that great preschool shows can change a child's life. They certainly changed mine.

Playthings: What motivated you to devote your creative energy solely to preschoolers?

JS: Some people create preschool shows to sell small toys and make big bucks; others, because they have kids of their own and can't stand the shows that are already on TV; still others, because they believe preschool shows are a way to teach children everything from the alphabet to world peace. I make them for another reason: I am a snob. I believe that humans peak at age four, and I only want to serve this very elite, if short, audience. For me, preschoolers are the most creative and intelligent demographic out there. They do not smoke, swear, name-drop, or cut in line. They are intuitive, fair, sensitive, and they can dance to any music. As far as I'm concerned, preschoolers 'rock,' and they certainly deserve the best programming that we adults can come up with.

Playthings: Exactly how do you get started developing a show?

JS: I begin with an idea. I do not know where my ideas come from. They are like colds: some are gone in a day, but some keep you up at night and hang around until you do something about them. I will focus on these chronic ideas because these are usually the good ones. I'll write them down in a “bible”—a document that describes an idea as clearly as possible so that potential buyers will have no trouble imagining what they will get for the roughly $350,000 per episode that it costs to make a preschool show. Included are character and set designs, plot summaries, an educational curriculum written by someone who went to grad school, and a lot of very funny and engaging pictures. I typically spend between $10,000 and $20,000 producing a bible.

Playthings: How do you move from idea to actuality?

JS: “Development” is typically the stage that follows a successful pitch. If it goes swimmingly, and all the various focus groups that are shown your character designs fall in love with them, then the network will sometimes fund a pilot, or they may even go straight to series. This is what is called “getting a green light,” and it usually means you and the people who helped you put together the bible, the budgets and the production schedule all go out and drink margaritas. Each show has its own staffing needs and the success or failure of a series will usually depend on the quality of the people one hires for these critical jobs. Once a show is produced, the tapes are delivered to the network and the show gets launched. If kids do watch the show, then everyone feels happy and typically the network will order more episodes. If kids do not watch, you will no longer get holiday cards from that network.

Playthings: With all the risks inherent to this business, how do you avoid them?

JS: I have never made a pilot myself unless it was funded by a network.