Talk With Fred Seibert About Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

"Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!" is an animated children's television series created by Bob Boyle. The first season debuts on DVD today, and we spoke with one of the executive producers, Fred Seibert, about Wubbzy and what it's like to develop programming for preschoolers.

Thanks for joining us, Fred. What attracted you to Wubbzy? What makes this show different from other preschool shows?
The creator, Bob Boyle. I've worked with him for 10-12 years now on shows like "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" and "Fairly Odd Parents". He's a great guy, a relentless creative force, full of wonderful ideas and wonderful characters. What he's done, visually, with Wubbzy is take his love for Japanese vinyl toys and interpret them through his own visual style, and just made them irresistible.

Are there lessons you want kids to learn from watching Wubbzy?
Bob wanted the show to feature lessons for children with an underlying message of friendship. I think that came, in part, because he developed the show with his nine-year-old niece. Personally, I don't think TV is a great place for teaching lessons. I was, and am, much more interested in entertaining children with great characters and great stories.

How is Wubbzy different from other shows you've worked on?
Wubbzy is softer, friendlier, not as fast or as joke-oriented. But it's still very funny. Basically, Wubbzy is comedy for kids. Also, Wubbzy is a very huggable character. Each of the shows I've worked on have featured likable characters, but Wubbzy is the one you want to actually have as a friend.

Your company, Next New Networks, is about to launch its 20th video-oriented site. What's your goal with New New Networks?
It's our view that new media demands new programming. Video online should be about more than just repurposing last night's Daily Show. Cable can service thousands of different interests. But, in the real world, there are millions of different interests. Our goal is to create unique programming for the many different communities that are out there online.

Any last words before we go back to watching Wubbzy?
Just that we're so thrilled! The second season of Wubbzy just launched to record ratings, we have the DVD coming out, and the new toys have been really well received. So we're very thankful. We've been working on this show, in one form or another, for six years now, and it's really gratifying to know that you guys are as excited about Wubbzy as we are!