ON TV: Children's Fantasy TV

Writing Television for Children: Wolfblood Q&A, Alison Peirse (Northumbria University) and Debbie Moon, creator of CBBC’s Wolfblood

Alison Peirse interviews Debbie Moon, the creator and head writer on the RTS and BAFTA-winning children’s television series Wolfblood (CBBC, 2012-). The session will focus on storytelling, exploring questions around writing 'horror' for children's television, the challenges in writing returning drama, and how new writers are brought onto an existing show. In addition, Alison and Debbie will discuss the Wolfblood Webisodes, and the distinctions (if any) between writing for new digital media and traditional television programmes.

Elizabeth Evans (University of Nottingham), Learning with the Doctor: Transmediality, Agency and Managing the Child/Adult Audience

Elizabeth’s talk will examine the strategies of audience management evidence in Doctor Who’s transmedia game ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. She will particularly consider how the agency of gaming was leveraged to ensure the games spoke across the series’ dual child/adult audience.

Claire Burdfield (University of Nottingham), My Little Accidental Audience: Navigating Adult Men, Young Girls and My Little Pony

In this paper, Claire will examine how multinational company Hasbro responded and managed the accidental audience of adult men (known as Bronies) that formed around the TV series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She will investigate how Hasbro maintained their family-friendly brand image and targeted audience of young girls, while simultaneously encouraging and cultivating their accidental Brony audience.