'The making of' age representation : production perspectives on creating older characters in children’s television

Children’s television is a complex and quickly changing landscape, just like its audience (Chiarulli et al., 2023, Jensen et al., 2023). More than ever, children have access to a myriad of content providers (Potter & Steemers, 2021), offering a wide range of stories and characters. Ideally, older adults are among those characters. However, this growing demographic is often overlooked, both in society and in children’s media. The portrayal of older characters deserves closer attention, as it shapes how ageing is culturally understood and influences social attitudes and the treatment of older people (Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018), starting from an early age (Lemish, 2022). Although both academic fields, in children’s media and age studies, are expanding, their combination remains relatively underexplored. Additionally, studies on representation are often content analyses, which provide valuable insights into how older characters are portrayed, but pay less attention to how these representations come into being (Rovner-Lev & Elias, 2019; Steemers, 2016). To address these gaps, this study investigates which productional factors shape the representation of older characters in children’s television via in-depth interviews with professionals working in the field. Participants (currently 14) are selected across a wide variety of professional roles (including actors, writers, head writers, content managers, producers, and animators), demographic backgrounds (diversity in gender, age, and ethnicity), and geographical settings (Flanders, UK, US). Preliminary findings point to a complex interplay of macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors, underscoring the need for a holistic approach to understanding how representations of older characters are constructed. At micro level, interviewees voiced personal experiences as creators of children’s television. Participants perceive an undervaluation of the genre, both within the broader media industry and societal perception, arguing such views overlook its important socializing function. Many see children’s television as a space to introduce young audiences to diverse societal groups, including older adults, and to foster empathy across generations. They also highlight the genre’s potential to address difficult topics associated with ageing, such as death and illness. A deep love for the genre was expressed, along with a dream to create impactful programs. This passion often translates into the inclusion of older characters inspired by their own social environments. Interviewees emphasized that representation is also shaped by the companies’ visions and decision-making structures (meso-level). Some noted that higher-level decision makers discourage the inclusion of older characters, assuming that children prefer to see themselves reflected on screen and thus that older characters are less relevant to a show’s success. Others, particularly public broadcasters, actively promote age diversity through internal policies and content review processes. This illustrates that factors such as commercial versus public orientation, work culture, and policy frameworks all influence representational choices. At the macro level, broader industry dynamics shape representational possibilities. The interviewees emphasized the shift toward shorter formats, which limit the time available to develop complex older characters. In animation, the high cost of each individual character further restricts diversity in representation. Participants also discussed how competition from platforms like YouTube and the gaming industry have fragmented the audience, making them harder to reach and prompting risk-averse behavior. This often leads to copy-cat programming, where companies replicate successful formats rather than innovate. The show Bluey was frequently mentioned as an example of how specific family structures are repeatedly reproduced. This often reduces older characters to repetitive grandparent roles, limiting diversity within that role and excluding them from other societal positions. These insights add depth to existing content analyses that critique the underrepresentation and limited diversity of older characters. By foregrounding the voices of industry professionals, this study shows that available representations are not merely the result of creative choices, but emerge from complex dynamics across multiple levels. This practice-based understanding can inform strategies to support more varied portrayals of older adults in children’s media.