Marylou Thistleton-Smith, CEO of The Voiceover Gallery, spoke to ttvnews about how the dubbing company prioritizes inclusivity when casting voiceover actors to ensure kids see themselves represented in the content they watch.
One of the most important aspects of kids’ content is stories and characters that young viewers can relate to and feel identified with, no matter the language. Thus, having the right voice actors when dubbing content is key to create that link with the audience.
This is why an experience dubbing company like The Voiceover Gallery (TVG) makes this a priority, focusing on talent and inclusivity, and making sure to cast voiceovers accurately, in regards to race, gender identity, disability, additional support needs and age.
In the following interview with ttvnews, Marylou Thistleton-Smith, CEO of TVG, talks about the benefits of working with a one-stop shop for casting and voiceover recording like her company, the importance of inclusivity for kids to see representation of themselves and how they experience the world through TV content, and her overview of the kids’ content market.
What is your current outlook on the kids’ content industry? What do you believe will be the main trends in terms of genres and productions for 2025?
We feel strongly that the kids’ content industry benefits massively from authentic casting, which refers to casting voiceovers accurately, in regards to race, gender identity, disability, additional support needs and age. More children are getting cast for children’s parts as oppose to adult actors. Inclusivity is increasingly more and more important, children need to see representation of themselves and how they experience the world.
What are the main challenges of producing kids’ content today? What do you look for when it comes to selecting projects for your catalogue?
There are challenges that come with working with children which mainly revolve around licensing and the strict time frames that comes with this, as well as chaperone fees and arrangements. Each council has different licensing terms, and these all must be applied for within a particular time window ahead of recording, making last minute decisions and tight changes in script and schedules virtually impossible. The additional expense of providing children with appropriate support given licensing laws/ chaperones must always be considered when working with children.
It’s also imperative that those who work in content production for and with children have the knowledge of how to support children, especially very young children those with additional needs.
Unlike older generations, who accessed content solely on linear TV, having content available whenever-wherever they want is the norm for kids today. How do you think the streaming evolution has changed the business of how kids content is distributed?
The streaming evolution allows franchises to create more content in general. All kids TV used to have a moral and ethical message/ educational message, which doesn’t seem to be of such high priority with current content, it feels as though we have started to lose the educational and moral fibre that ran through most kids TV.
This could be a result of the higher production of short form content, some programmes only 5/6 mins long, making for perhaps more superficial messaging.
There’s much more opportunity for spin offs and brands have a bigger opportunity to use content produced for children as a marketing tool. Everything has merchandise attached, and perhaps the child/ actual audience isn’t necessarily being considered.
In this regard, which platforms and territories do you currently work with? Which regions do you believe have the biggest potential for your content to grow in?
YouTube seems to be the top platform currently for children’s TV. It’s accessible everywhere and is full content that’s short but also holds a narrative. The level of production can show it to be more meaningful than TikTok etc.
There’s a growth of mobile content in different territories. For example, Netflix is increasingly popular in India with a specific demand for mobile plans and packages.
How do you see kids’ content and younger audiences evolving in the coming years?
Shorter and shorter content, more geared towards “reels” as attention spans get shorter. Interactive content might become increasingly popular.
What would you like to add?
We are not a production company, but as a one-stop shop for casting and voiceover recording, TVG Kids focuses on talent. We are an inclusive agency, proudly representing both neurodiverse and neurotypical children, all of whom are talented voiceover artists.
