Everyone’s favorite ponies are hitting a huge milestone next week! My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will be airing its 100th episode on June 13th! Check out a clip from the episode above!
MLP: Friendship Is Magic has been on for five seasons, and even though it’s a show based on a children’s toy and geared toward young girls, it’s found a broad audience, which is why the show has been so successful. In an interview with Variety, Hasbro Studios executive director Brian Lenard discussed some of the secrets to the show’s appeal:
The irony is that we don’t try to incorporate anything into the show to hit any specific demographic. We’re actually just making the show that has been developed and has been successful on its own merits. When we look at a particular episode when we’re writing it and animating it, we’re thinking about if this is true to the spirit of the show, true to the spirit of the characters, true to the spirit of the world. Ultimately, that’s what’s driven the success and driven the fanbase.
In other Pony news, MLP Executive producer, Meghan McCarthy, has been promoted to the Head of Storytelling for Hasbro’s girl brands! So that pony voice will be put to good use developing stories and characters across Hasbro’s portfolio of brands, including My Little Pony, and Littlest Pet Show, among others. She’s also going to be working with producers on the My Little Pony feature-length film that’s due to be released in 2017! It’s awesome to see this property thrive like this, and it’s certainly cool to see a female executive producer be given power over all of these brands!
However, I do wonder, in the face of MLP having as broad a fanbase as it does, why properties continue to be divided into “girl” brands and “boy” brands, especially as toy companies are starting to get wise to the idea that toys can be sold without taking gender into consideration. Surely, Hasbro is aware of bronies? And if MLP can manage to be accessible and entertaining and enjoyable across gender lines, wouldn’t there be an interest in bringing that level of accessibility to other brands? Or is MLP singular in that way?
What do you think? Is there still a need for gendered entertainment? Is MLP an exception to the rule? And will you be watching the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic 100th episode on June 13th at 11:30AM on Discovery Family? Tell us in the comments below!
(via Deadline Hollywood)
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