I don't know a lot about how the television industry works, but it seems like children's shows don't start the same way as adult dramas. For a show like House, they figured out the cast and characters, story lines, and a pilot episode. Then they pitched it around to network executives until they found one (FOX) that wanted to add the show to its fall line-up.
Children's television isn't treated the same way. We've got two superpowers, Disney and Nickelodeon, that host most of children's programming. Cartoon Network, Fox Kids, Kids WB, and PBS have a few original shows too, but they've been on a decline since Saturday Morning TV faded away.
Why can't we give children's programming the same treatment as network dramas? Have an idea, do the leg work, produce a pilot, and pitch it around.
In the current system, the best chance to make children's programming is on Disney and Nickelodeon. Maybe if those networks had outside competition, we'd have better programming for children to watch. Kids definitely deserve better entertainment than what's on TV right now.
I agree - and I'm trying to do just that: shoot a pilot episode of a comedy show for kids. It seems like there's never been a better time to do independent work and find distribution for it on non-broadcast, emerging models.
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Christa
Thank you for your comment, Christa, and for the link to Firefly and Friends--what a wonderful idea!
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