Redefining family content for the multi-screen generation

By Diane Rankin 01-10-2024

Diane Rankin, exec VP, commercial strategy and content financing at Blue Ant Studios, discusses what ‘family’ content really means, what shows work well for co-viewing and how tapping into programming for family audiences can be valuable to the industry.

Japanese format Old Enough is launching at Mipcom

It’s not news that the kids’ market has been under a tonne of pressure. Consequently, I’ve noticed the word ‘family’ popping up in many kids’ department names and job titles across the industry – from broadcasters and commissioners to producers and distributors. And indeed, we at Blue Ant Studios have a kids and family development team.

For some, this inclusion of ‘family’ in many producers’ and distributors’ genre offerings may be more about widening the net as a catch-all or a strategy to break out of kids’ programming, particularly at a tough time for the industry, and that may be the case for some broadcasters too. But no matter the reason, are we all on the same page when it comes to what family means or what the industry wants from contemporary family content as it strives to attract the coveted co-view audience?

Family has been on many buyers’ wishlists for the past couple of years; however, in television, as in life, family can take many different meanings and shapes, and send development teams in myriad directions. Frequently, it’s just the new way to describe kids’ programming: a Google search on ‘family TV series’ returns a Top 50, with Gravity Falls at number one and SpongeBob SquarePants at number two. While plenty of adults love these shows, this is not exactly family content, and these series were clearly developed for kids and commissioned by kids’ broadcasters. The fragmentation of kids-specific versus family programming is a modern invention and one this generation is looking to redefine; commissioners and broadcasters may do well to listen.

For some broadcasters and streamers, family simply has meant family-friendly – ie. safe enough, not too risqué, really targeted at adults, but young kids won’t hear or see something they shouldn’t. Think Modern Family or Outnumbered where the laughs are targeted and some of the comedy safely goes over the heads of younger viewers. For most, it’s big-budget entertainment and sports-adjacent series that have something for everyone. Got Talent, Ninja Warrior, Gladiators, Strictly Come Dancing serve as great examples. Many of these have created huge viral moments that have gone beyond the television set and reached new audiences on other screens. But big-budget entertainment series can’t be the only way to capture co-viewing, can it?

Stranger Things speaks to multiple generations

For many, including us, there is a real drive to create content that genuinely appeals to co-viewing for different generations, content that can entertain, inspire, invite reflection and spark conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we’ll go back in time to get the entire family around the TV together every evening. Consumption habits have changed, that’s a fait accompli, but we must be able to create content that genuinely appeals across generations for today’s multi-screen, multi-platform using, and frequently fragmented households.

Factual series like Educating Yorkshire (the East End, Essex, etc) did a great job appealing to a joint audience, whether by design or by accident. I had tween/teen offspring sit down to watch these series with me, we all loved them for different reasons but had a really positive shared experience and lively conversation.

Netflix’s Stranger Things is a great example of a scripted series that speaks to multi-generations through its storytelling and character journeys; it really is a love letter to family content of yesteryear. In this multiscreen universe we now live in, these types of series will be consumed in many different ways but they can still offer that ‘sit down together’ and ‘shared moment’ type of watch.

At Blue Ant Studios, we’ve just produced the first English-language version of Nippon TV’s long-running Japanese format Old Enough (8×30’), for TVO in Canada. The show, launching at Mipcom, features children and their parents tackling an interesting conversation around independence and helicopter parenting, how old is ‘old enough?’

Kids aged between three and six take on simple daily tasks, such as grocery shopping or collecting dry cleaning all by themselves, which turn into hilarious adventures and heart-warming interactions, with the parents watching on. Young viewers get to see a version of themselves on screen, while parents get to react to their kids’ independence and reflect on their parenting through a new lens. These different perspectives encourage families to talk about what they’ve seen and how it may be relevant in their lives.

It was important this show worked well for both audiences and that it stimulated the right conversations; in fact, TVO even commissioned the series dually out of its documentary and kids’ commissioning teams. We’ve upped the parental participation from the original format – they talk to camera and reflect on their parenting styles – which adds a light social experiment layer, and the result is a really entertaining and often comedic obs-doc-style series that could comfortably sit in different places in schedules (for example, kids’ blocks, early primetime).

TVO airs it at 18:30, a slot not too late for kids and not too early that adults are digging into the latest drama or tuning into the hockey game. I’m delighted to report early feedback is really encouraging.

Nailing the family genre can be valuable in so many ways. The more opportunities for shared experiences and/or conversation starters, the better our relationships will be with our kids, parents, siblings, chosen family, whatever their ages. But also, as a business, we have a moment to create more content that works for this complex, mixed demographic.

A more nuanced understanding of our audience and, therefore the genre, aligned to ensure family programming across all genres speaks to all members of any family, can only be good for the industry.