One of the most intriguing subplots buried deep in Thursday’s Emmy nominations is a possible microcosm for the state of children’s television.
Traditionally, when people think of children’s programming, they think of cartoons. And while there are plenty of kid friendly cartoons out there, Emmy doesn’t like them too much. Check out the the Outstanding Animated Program category and none of the shows are aimed at children.
First is FOX’s “American Dad,” which is from the creators of “Family Guy” (more on that later) and is full of off color humor and pop culture references from the Eighties and Nineties. Next is “Robot Chicken,” which airs late at night on the Cartoon Network, and is a stop motion show that is packed with nerdy references like “Star Wars.” Then there’s Comedy Central’s “South Park,” arguably the dirtiest cartoon ever made full of sexual and explicit dialogue all in reference to the news. Finally, FOX’s “The Simpsons” is sort of kid friendly but really can’t be truly appreciated by anyone under like 25.
So cartoons are out, at least as far as in their own Emmy category. Let’s move down the list. Maybe live action is where it’s at.
The Outstanding Children’s Program is even more confusing though, because it’s basically three of the exact same show. Nominated are Disney’s “Hannah Montana,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.” Obviously these shows are fine for children, based on their networks alone, and are quite popular. But each show is a virtual copy of the same formula. Take a popular tween female star (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Miranda Cosgrove) and make her a closet super talent (pop star, witch, Internet star) who uses that power to help herself and friends around her. Each show has its charms and each girl is role model (of sorts) but really, despite the specifics, they are virtually the same.
So, the good children’s programming isn’t a cartoon or live action. Let’s keep going.
Taking a quick detour, in the mix of Outstanding Comedy Series along with shows like “30 Rock” and “Entourage,” is FOX’s “Family Guy.” Despite its title, “Family Guy’s” inclusion in this category cements the fact that animation is certainly not aimed at the family. “Family Guy” really takes the explicit nature of “South Park” and the smarts of “The Simpsons” and blends them together. It’s a hilarious show, but highly inappropriate for kids.
So where is the high-quality, child friendly programming in today’s Emmy nominations if they aren’t where they belong?
There’s a tiny category called Outstanding Special Class – Short-format Animated Programs- which is a fancy new classification that is meant as a catch all for things that aren’t necessarily made for TV. In this case, it incorporates a lot of online content and random other things. That’s where episodes of Disney Channel’s “Phineas and Ferb” and Nickelodeon’s “Spongebob Squarepants” are both nominated. “Phineas and Ferb” is about two stepbrothers who try to battle boredom on summer vacation and “Spongebob” is about a happy sponge who lives under water. Original, animated shows of high quality that kids eat up end up, somehow, in the online category, even though they aren’t necessarily online shows.
So maybe that’s where the future of children’s television is going. Animated shows aren’t guaranteed to be for kids anymore, live action shows aren’t necessarily original anymore and the best place to find something new and okay might be the Wild Wild West of the Internet.
Don’t believe me? Check out this show “Fred” over on YouTube. It’s not Emmy nominated, and probably will never be, but some of the episodes are well over 20 million views each. Nothing aimed at children gets that many views. Ever.
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