Children's television series are television programs designed specifically for children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are normally broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake, immediately before and after school schedules generally start in the country where they air. Educational themes are also prevalent, as well as the transmission of cautionary tales and narratives that teach problem-solving methods in some fashion or another, such as social disputes.
Shadi Petosky is a television show runner. She co-created the animated series Danger & Eggs, and has worked on television series including The Sandman.
Mystery Science Theater 3000, also referred to as "The 'Bots Are Back!" is an Internet cartoon created by Best Brains, Inc. It was inspired by BBI's original Mystery Science Theater 3000 TV series, and was directed by former Executive Producer Jim Mallon. The series featured the robot characters from the original series in a variety of brief sketches taking place at an undetermined point during the original show's fictional timeline. However, no human character is present.
LGBT representation in children's television is representation of LGBT topics, themes, and people in television programming meant for children. LGBT representation in children's programming was often uncommon to non-existent for much of television's history up to the 2010s, but has significantly increased since then.
Historically, the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in media has been largely negative if not altogether absent, reflecting a general cultural intolerance of LGBTQ individuals; however, from the 1990s to present day, there has been an increase in the positive depictions of LGBTQ people, issues, and concerns within mainstream media in North America. The LGBTQ communities have taken an increasingly proactive stand in defining their own culture, with a primary goal of achieving an affirmative visibility in mainstream media. The positive portrayal or increased presence of the LGBTQ communities in media has served to increase acceptance and support for LGBT communities, establish LGBTQ communities as a norm, and provide information on the topic.
The portrayals of bisexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards bisexuality in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, numerous bisexual characters have appeared in television series, including cartoons, anime, video games and web series, along with literature, comics, radio, and other mediums.
Danger & Eggs is an American animated series created by Mike Owens and Shadi Petosky that premiered on Amazon Video on June 30, 2017. The show focuses on the adventures of a cyan-haired teenaged girl and her giant anthropomorphic egg friend.
Craig of the Creek is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode debuted directly on the TV on December 1, 2017. The series premiered online on February 19, 2018, with a double-premiere event airing on March 30, 2018.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is an American animated television series developed for Netflix by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Like the 1985 Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power, of which it is a reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power tells the tale of Adora, an adolescent who can transform into the heroine She-Ra and leads a group of other magical princesses in a rebellion against the evil Lord Hordak and his Horde.
The Bravest Knight is a Canadian animated television series, produced by Big Bad Boo Studios and a Hulu original which became the first kids original on the streaming service. The first episodes were added to the streaming service on June 21, 2019 and the other eight on October 11, 2019. The show, which was created by Daniel Errico, and directed by Shabnam Rezaei. It is a fantasy and adventure story focused on how a young kid and pumpkin farmer turned into the "bravest knight" through wild adventures across the lands, which he tells his adopted daughter. The series is one of the first all-ages animations to have an "openly gay main character".
Dead End: Paranormal Park is an American animated fantasy horror comedy television series created by British author Hamish Steele for Netflix, which is based on the graphic novels series DeadEndia by Steele and Cartoon Hangover's Too Cool! Cartoons web short Dead End. Produced by Blink Industries, the series premiered on June 16, 2022. A second and final season premiered on October 13, 2022. On January 13, 2023, Steele announced that the series had been canceled.
The portrayals of pansexuality in the media reflect existing societal attitudes towards pansexuality and current media portrayals. Although pansexual characters are not often characters in mass media, they have appeared in various films, TV series, literature, video games, graphic art, and webcomics, sometimes embodying certain tropes in cinema and fantasy. Musicians, actors, and other public personalities have also, in recent years, come out as pansexual, and are focused on with this page.
Netflix has contributed substantially to LGBTQ representation in animation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual and transgender characters have appeared in various animated series, and some animated films, on the streaming platform. GLAAD described Netflix as a company taking "impressive strides in viewership and impact," when it came to LGBTQ representation. Scholars have stated that LGBTQ characters on streaming services, such as Netflix, "made more displays of affection" than on broadcast networks.
Cartoon Network, an American TV channel which launched in 1992, and Adult Swim, its adult-oriented nighttime programming block which launched in 2001, has regularly featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters in its programming.
This article features the history of the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) characters in animated productions under The Walt Disney Company, including films from the studios Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and programming from the Disney Branded Television channels as well as the streaming service Disney+. From 1983 onward, Disney struggled with LGBTQ representation in their animated series, and their content often included LGBTQ stereotypes or the content was censored in series such as Blazing Dragons. Some creators have also criticized Disney studio executives of cutting LGBTQ scenes from their shows in the past, or criticized that their shows were not seen as part of the "Disney brand", like The Owl House.
In Western animation, LGBTQ themes means plotlines and characters which are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer in series produced in Western countries, and not in Japan, which can also have similar themes. Early examples included Bugs Bunny in drag, wearing a wig and a dress, as a form of comedy, or episodes of Tom & Jerry, under restrictive moral guidelines like the Hays Code with some arguing that animation has "always had a history of queerness." This later evolved into gay-coded characters in Disney films like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, and in animated series such as The Simpsons and South Park. In later years, other series would more prominently depict same-sex characters and relationships. This would include Adventure Time, Steven Universe, The Legend of Korra, Gravity Falls, Clarence, The Loud House, and Arthur. Such series, and others, have encountered roadblocks, with series creators attempting to make their programs "more welcoming of different characters," and ensure all-ages animation is no longer "bereft of queer characters." Previously, an online database, by Insider, documented over 250 LGBTQ characters in children's animation dating back to 1983, but the "representation of overtly queer characters" skyrocketed from 2010 to 2020, with promotion of these series by some streaming platforms, while other companies were not supportive of overt representation, for one reason or another.
Nickelodeon, an American TV channel which launched in 1979, has featured lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters in its programming.
