One of the best in the business when it comes to animation and family programming is PBS KIDS. Lyla in the Loop, a great new series, joins the lineup this Monday February 5th (check your local listings). Emmy-winning creator and executive producer Dave Peth and EP and head writer Fracaswell Hyman loop me in with this Animation Scoop Q&A. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Dave, what inspired you to make this show? And how does this strong, sweet lead character Lyla inspire you day to day?

Dave Peth: We all need that spark of relentless creativity to solve problems we face every day. If I could have half the energy that Lyla shows on screen, I’d be better off for it for sure. The show concept originally started from a question… that came from PBS themselves at a conference: “How would you do a show about coding… computational thinking… science, tech, engineering and math topics related to that… and it doesn’t involve sitting at a computer and typing?” What is the essence of that kind of problem solving that goes on when you’re doing coding? Those are the skills we see in this show. Breaking down a problem into steps. Figuring out how to put those steps together. Bug fixing — problem solving as you go, tweaking the outcome. All those appear in everyday life.

With Lyla, we have a chance to see how a family works together and uses those same thought processes and skills, but not on a computer. Just figuring things out. Being creative. Expressing themselves. Running their family restaurant. And we wanted to feature a female lead — a girl of color on the show. In tech and engineering fields in particular, women of color are traditionally underrepresented. The show is an encouragement and an invitation for all kids, but certainly for young girls of color to see themselves — exploring those fields and skills and maybe finding a passion for it.

JM: She’s a great role model. And Cas, one of the episodes has a line in which one of her friends says that she’s incredibly responsible. What does that characteristic mean to you, and how did you want to show that on this series?

Fracaswell Hyman: Well I wrote that line because once somebody pegs you as being responsible, and then you do something that might appear to be irresponsible, then you have to be really, really committed to proving that you’re still responsible. That’s what Lyla has to do in that episode when she loses a coin her friend entrusted her with picking up, and she has to do everything she can think of and dream of to get that coin back because she doesn’t want to lose that crown of being the most responsible person that her friend knows.

Dave Peth and Fracaswell Hyman

JM: I enjoyed that episode. Nice themes and messages. There are a lot of lessons. Dave, you talked about thinking things through, and I have to imagine that also applies to making a show like this.

DP: It’s true of anyone who does any creative work, like making a show. It’s a huge project, and it requires the coordination of a ton of different people. Thinking things through applies to our work in that a story, on the first draft, may look like all the pieces are gonna fit together. But as you know it never does, on the first, second, or third draft, or on the first animatic. You always have to look at it and continue to rearrange and recombine. That’s a message that kids need. People think about careers in entertainment as somehow magical. You just are able to learn so much and write a script and it’s just perfect on the first try. Everyone shows up on set and it just comes together. But that’s not true. We have all these steps we go through in the production process. Every time we look at something, it’s a chance to make a change. And that’s an important message. Even professionals — us making this show — don’t get things right on the first try. We have to keep going at it again and again and again and find our way through it.

FH: Lyla thinks things through. She doesn’t give up. Because the first idea doesn’t work, then what’s the second and the third idea? “Maybe I can ask somebody for help. Maybe I can implement someone else’s ideas and resources to get what I need done done.” Hopefully what we’re imparting to our audience is: Think things through and keep trying until you achieve what it is you want to achieve.

JM: That’s fantastic. I love the support system Lyla has in her friends and her family and in this restaurant setting. Cas, as I was watching the episodes, I thought that going to a diner is probably one of the top 10 most fun places families can go to for some laughs and joy.

FH: And some French fries! But also Lyla has help from Stu, who is her otherworldly sidekick. Stu is an entity… a thing… that will do whatever it is you ask him to do — and do it exactly the way you ask him. So you better be careful what you ask him and how you want him to do it! He will go to [such a] degree, and a lot of times Lyla has to pull him back and reconsider what her instructions were so Stu will get things right. It’s kinda sorta like what we do with computers. When you program a computer it’s gonna do exactly what you want it to do and then you gotta make sure you give it the right instructions so you get what you want done. And that leads to a lot of fun stuff in our show — Stu going off. (laughs)

JM: Yes. Dave, what went into the design of Stu — a pretty distinct looking character?

DP: We wanted something which was clearly not a robot — not a machine. Stu is a living, breathing creature, even though he’s something truly unique — the only one of his kind that we know of. We definitely wanted to feel like it was friendly, huggable and like an animal but not one we could readily identify. There’s something about him which needed to feel squishy and plastic so he can zip around and frost 50 cupcakes in a flash or climb the walls and stick to the ceiling.

JM: The show is called “Lyla in the Loop”. In the episodes I saw, there’s some repetition — doing things over again until you get it right. Cas, what does “the loop” signify specifically to Lyla and this show — and in working on it?

FH: If you’re “in the loop”, that means you’re active. That means you’re doing something. You’re participating. You’re a part of it. When you’re out of the loop, you’re out of luck. So Lyla’s in the loop… and it just so happens that her family’s last name is Loops. So the title kind of hits all kinds of things like that.

JM: Nice. I like that. Dave, you’ve worked on “Odd Squad”, “Peg + Cat”, “Design Squad” and “Scribbles & Ink”. You’ve been with PBS Kids for a long time. How do you see “Lyla in the Loop” fitting what PBS KIDS stands for in 2024?

DP: We’re so grateful to be a part of the PBS network. It’s a wonderful place to be in kids media. I think the common bond is that it’s all about empowering kids to be able to express themselves — to be passionate about what you’re doing and you feel like, “Yeah!” You’re not doing it alone. You’re doing it with friends and family. It’s the same message here as it is in those other shows. You can do things. You do have it in you to accomplish what you’re looking to accomplish. And it’s the same message here with “Lyla in the Loop”.

JM: Cas, how would you say this show has changed you as far as this show’s theme of having big ideas and imagination — and opening yourself up to thinking about things even more? The imagination theme and being proud of the big ideas that you have is really going to resonate with kids.

FH: One of the things that this show has reinforced for me is that we are all creative. Not just because I’m a writer or an actor or somebody who’s a singer or a musician. Like [Lyla’s] father, you can be creative in what you cook in your restaurant. You can be creative in finding a different way home when the traffic is blocked one way. Creativity lives in all of us, and if we tap into that and accept that, “Yeah. I can do anything I put my mind to”, then that’s when the creativity flourishes. That’s the A in STEAM. It bugs me when they say STEM and they don’t leave the A in there. Science, technology, engineering and math all involve creativity, which is a part of the arts! The art of life. And Lyla exudes the art of life. I think that’s what really tapped into me from working on this show.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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