In addition, McCarthy wanted to make the show relatable to kids and families since everyone has a talent or skill they love but might be afraid or too busy to pursue because of societal expectations. She also made sure to include a villain to highlight the challenges that sometimes get in the way of those goals.

“Who’s the villain in this story? Who is stopping [Jasmine] from doing this? What’s their motivation for doing this?” McCarthy said. “Our team mapped out the full arc of the series and knew that we wanted to make every episode a cliffhanger.”

Toy brands go to infinity and beyond to create content

Studios adapting popular toy products into a film or show isn’t a new concept. Lego and Mattel’s Barbie are just some of the recent successes of toys turned into entertainment content. But McCarthy noted the pitfalls to avoid when developing shows from brands.

“Everyone in this industry is always looking for a source to build stories off of,” McCarthy said. “It’s always helpful if it’s something that people have already responded to in some way. The biggest challenge is if it’s something that doesn’t have a story. How are you going to build off of that and make it a special story and not just something that makes it feel like you’re trying to sell more of a product?”

However, she said the most important thing is making sure that the shows have engaging and genuine storylines.

“Obviously, people want to make money off of things, but if you don’t go about it with sincerity, authenticity, and a point of view, the audience knows and won’t connect in the way that you want them to because it doesn’t feel real to them,” McCarthy said. “It feels like you’re just trying to sell the audience something versus communicating with them and engaging them in a meaningful way, and giving them characters and stories that they want to spend time with because they love them.”