Mumbai: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon has announced that to ensure that a variety of voices are being heard, it has created the Nick Content Accelerator. This is a programme that it says has been designed specifically for early-career, underrepresented creatives to pitch new live-action and animated series for its platforms.
The broadcaster is partnering with Rise Up Animation and Ghetto Film School to solicit pitches for this programme. This programme is open to emerging professionals in the field of kid-focused content creation. The broadcaster added that it wants to hear from people of colour, creatives with disabilities, creatives in the LGBTQ+ community, or any other voices who have historically had limited or no access to the children’s television industry.
Nickelodeon is accepting submissions for pitches in three categories, namely live action, big kid animation, and preschool/upper preschool, from 8 August 2022 until 30 September 2022.
After reviewing the submissions, the top entries will move forward to Pitch Day (date TBD).
The top applicants will meet with Nickelodeon development executives on Pitch Day to present their ideas. The selected creators will work directly with development executives and a creative mentor on honing their pitch over a few months [at the beginning of the year in 2023].
Nickelodeon further explained that it is looking for unique big ideas that could be the next big show. It said these are some of the pillars that aspirants should be looking for in order for their show to be a big hit:
Character-driven: Comedy at Nickelodeon comes from the characters. The broadcaster said that it always wants to see distinct and unique personalities who can drive the story and the comedy. Nickelodeon characters are memorable and iconic. They are the kinds of people you would want to be friends with.
Irreverent comedy: Nickelodeon shows are often a little messy and left of centre. A Nickelodeon show can be any genre, but surprising comedy is always a part of its shows. Like slime, it is a little weird and a little messy!
Authentic kid POV: It said that its series always shows life from a kid's perspective and never talks down to kids. It wants to show what it's really like to be a kid, and not just show a polished version of kid life. This is true even for shows with adult lead characters. For example, although SpongeBob is an adult who lives in his own home, he still has a very kid-like perspective on the world.
Inclusive and all gender: When it speaks about authentic kid POV, it also wants to represent kids authentically as they are in the world. That means creating shows that represent the diverse world we live in. It also wants to create shows that all genders will love.
