Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 11/01/23

New episodes of A Wonderful Day with Mabel Maclay drop every Saturday on Bentkey. So, is the kidcentric streaming service from the people behind the conservative Daily Wire media operation really agenda free? IMHO, After watching an episode of Mabel Maclay, one of Bentkey’s premiere shows, the only agenda I detected was to encourage joy and creative thinking. There was certainly nothing political or ideological going on – just a witty, uplifting program that parents might actually enjoy watching with their kids – but would also feel comfortable allowing them to watch it alone.

Katy and Ryan Chase are the married parents of three who created the show in which Katy plays the title role.

JWK: So, tell me about the show. What’s it about?

Katy Chase: Sure…It’s a show that kind of celebrates the simple joy of wondering. We meet a character named Mabel who believes that life is wonderful and worth wondering about. So, we really wanted to explore that idea for kids. We believe it leads to a love of learning. This idea that wondering about things, people and places is a really special thing.

JWK: Is it fair to say you’ve taken some inspiration from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood?

Ryan Chase: Absolutely. That was one of our favorites growing up and we shared that with our kids. So, yes, absolutely Mister Rogers. We’re hoping that it will create the feeling of shows that a lot of us grew up with that they’re not really making anymore, that are slightly slower paced but are still interesting and exciting and will hopefully inspire the kids to learn and wonder – but, yeah, it definitely has a Rogers influence in there.

KC: Certainly I think the character of Mabel is very inspired by Mister Rogers in terms of the way she speaks to children. She is kind, gentle and calm…She challenges (kids) to sit with a program that isn’t quite as flashy, noisy, sugary and exciting (as other shows) but is sort of grounded in a more real-life kind of approach and tone. So, we drew a lot of inspiration from Rogers in that way.

JWK: So, how did the idea actually come about and how did your relationship with Bentkey happen?

RC: Well, we know (Bentkey Ventures CEO) Jeremy (Boreing) for a long time. We actually had our own kids improv after-school program. We had our own studio. So, when he said “Hey, I have this idea! We’re gonna do kids content! You’re the people I know that know kids the most. Do you have any ideas?” we said “We do! We would love to make a show for you!” He said “What’s your dream show?” Then we told him our ideas and things we’ve been working on with our kids at home in developing these ideas. He said “Great! That’s exactly what we’re looking for!” We couldn’t believe it. It just seemed like a perfect match. 

KC: We know Jeremy a really long time. Publicly, his persona is so sort of serious and political but, as a personal friend, he’s a person he’s a person who is just really, really kind and really creative. His vision for Bentkey was one where we show kids shows that are full of imagination, wonder and joy – and that’s exactly what we wanted to create. So, we felt so aligned with Bentkey in that way and are really thankful to be a part of it.

JWK: How did you actually meet him?

KC: We met as very young people. (To Ryan) You met him first.

RC: Yeah, you know, there’s clearly a planner and a creator, I believe. Somehow our paths aligned quickly. After he got off the bus, so to speak, in Los Angeles, I think I got off the same time. He was from Texas. I’m from Florida. We happened to meet through a mutual friend. I was doing some music at the time at a Bible study for people in the entertainment world, a small group of Christians. We met through a friend and we just hit it off immediately. It seemed like we were on a similar trajectory. We’ve just been friends ever since.

JWK: And how did you two meet? You’re married with three kids, I understand.

KC: Yes. We have an interesting story of how we met. We met at one of my first auditions in Los Angeles – like fresh off the boat. We got cast playing husband and wife…We did a commercial washing dishes together selling a cable service or something and then kind of fell out of touch – and then ended up realizing that we were neighbors years later and reconnected.

RC: We were literally cast as husband and wife.

JWK: Perfect casting!

RC: The casting director was really good. I don’t think he knows. We’ve never been able to track him down and say “Hey, we got married! We have three kids!”

JWK: That’s funny. The Casting Director in the Sky put you together.

So, I know new episodes of your show are released every Saturday – and that Benkey is trying to create that old feel of Saturday morning as a time for kids programming. What shows did you both watch growing up that are the type that you’d like your kids to experience?

KC: Well, we have a whole collection of old shows that we show them. We actually keep an old movie projector at our house.  Instead of (using a) television, we can show them some wonderful things (on the projector). Rogers is certainly top of the list. The original Duck Tales are now…

RC: Oh, man! Love those! We bought the whole box set on DVD! We have a lunchbox-size projector. That’s how we show them things. So, yeah, they’re very familiar with that. They love The Andy Griffith Show.

JWK: Great show!

RC: We watch a lot of that.

KC: Our son is really into the very original Three Stooges.

RC: Oh, yeah! Love the Stooges – and classic Looney Tunes! And then some oldie oldies, cartoonwise, like the Underdog cartoons. The kids and I have watched all those. They love those. This last year we watched Little House House on the Prairie. I had never gone through all the Little Houses.

KC: That can be a little intense actually.

JWK: How old are your kids?

KC: They are seven, five and almost two.

JWK: And how long have you guys been married?

KC: We’ve been married twelve years.

JWK: I know the original name for the streaming service was going to be DWKids – as in Direct Wire – but the name was changed to Bentkey so it wouldn’t be associated with politics. I can attest that I watched an episode of your show and there’s definitely no politics in there. Do you think that’s a problem with much of the current stuff being put out there for kids, that a lot of it has an underlying political agenda?

KC: I think in general, certainly among the moms I talk to of all walks of life – and I have friends who have all sorts of different (opinions) – we all agree that there are certain topics that we as parents, especially modern parents, we want to be really intentional about regarding the age that we bring them up with our kids and the language that we use. We’re just very intentionally minded about how we discuss all kinds of things. Even between kids, all of our kids are so different and ready for different topics at different developmental stages and ages. So, there is this thing, I think, among parents that’s like “I don’t want anything coming in to the TV that we haven’t discussed yet and that I haven’t been in charge of introducing.” So, we’re glad to be part of the solution.

JWK: As I said, I watched an episode. It was about creativity. The dog Jasper certainly seems to have breakout potential as a rising star. I do have to say the show is very humorous.

KC: Yes, Jasper is very, very funny. The actor Ricky Boyd (who plays Jasper) is extremely talented. There are actually two actors who operate all of the systems of the puppet. It’s very complicated and very impressive.

RC: Those guys are just the best…We’re so blessed that they came on the project. As she said, it’s two guys. Ricky does the voice and some of the front stuff and John, the other very talented puppeteer, made the puppet. They’re just the best.

KC: John does a lot of the tricks that Jasper has to do…It’s quite complicated. It’s pretty cool.

RC: They’re just remarkable. We threw a lot of stuff at them and they didn’t bat an eye – then they’d come up with even more stuff. We’d go “Are you sure you can do that?” and they’d go “Oh, yeah. We can make that happen.”

JWK: You guys actually come from improv, right? Do you make a lot of this stuff up as you go along?

KC: That’s interesting. There are pieces of the show that I do improvise. Obviously, when I’m speaking with a guest or we’re out in the real world visiting like a chocolate factory or a fire station, all of those segments are really just talking and improvising. Then there’s a piece of the show where she wonders about an object. She calls those objects “whatchamathings.” They’re little things that she stumbles across in her day. We love that. As you know, kids stumble across objects in their day all the time…and they find the extraordinary in the ordinary when it comes to things like that. They find a penny or a rock to be fascinating. So, anyway, Mabel comes upon these things and wonders about them. That was a place where it felt it would be great to really simply sit down and wonder, kinda off the script, about those things.

JWK: So, what do you hope kids take from the show?

KC: I hope that they turn it off and go outside – or go to the kitchen counter and start creating things.We’ve started to hear some of that feedback – and seeing pictures of kids building clay sculptures or going outside with a magnifying glass and trying to find little whatchamathings in the yard. That truly is our hope. That’s why we love that episodes are being released every Saturday. That makes me feel good that children won’t be “binge watching” Mabel. The spirit of it is that they might be inspired and then go get curious and creative…I’ve met a few kids (who have watched the show) in person so far that have recognized me and came barreling up to me with a suggested Question of the Day.

JWK: So, you’ve been getting feedback. You’ve only been on how long now? A couple of weeks right.

RC: A couple weeks.

JWK: And you’re getting positive feedback?

RC: Oh, man. We’ve been so thankful. We’ve had lots of positive feedback – even from folks probably suspicious about if there really is going to be (a separation between) Daily Wire and Bentkey…Everybody seems to find a really kind thing to say about the show and about Bentkey overall…We’re so thankful. It’s been wonderful.

KC: Everyone that worked on it had this feeling that the whole thing was really good – but you don’t know until you put it out into the world. It was a bit nerve wracking to launch this piece of creativity that we love and that we worked so hard on…The feedback has been so positive from adults but I, personally, am always like “Okay, but what do your kids (think)?”I’m so interested in kids’ feedback. So, when we receive some of that it’s the most meaningful to me. I want to know if kids are enjoying it and which parts they like the best and all those things. As we’re developing Season 2 we want to make sure that our audience – our actual audience, children – are happy with the show and loving it.

JWK: What’s the age range for the show?

KC: We know it will be most popular with preschool audiences but our true dream for the show is that a family with older siblings may all be able to watch it together (with their) parents because of the tone, because Mabel isn’t someone who speaks in a babyish or obnoxious way. And we’ve done really cool field trips and things. I learned to ice skate with Scott Hamilton! I learned to throw a football on the fifty yard line of an enormous famous football field with the head coach!

RC: Learned banjo from Ron Block! He’s the best – and he’s great guy too!

KC: We sprinkled in a lot that we think grownups will find really fun and older children as well.

RC: Parents often put shows on to keep kids busy while they’re doing stuff (but) find (themselves) going “Hey, turn that volume down!” as the kids are getting crazy-eyed with all the quick cuts…We hope that if folks put our show on that it isn’t just keeping kids busy (and) it isn’t an annoying thing in the background (but) that it’s a pleasant thing and maybe it brings them all together to watch. As she said, we hope that kids of varying ages in young families can all take away something from the show.

KC: We even had grandparents in mind for so many of the choices in terms of Mabel’s house and things. We imagined that maybe this is a house that she inherited from her grandparents. There are military pictures of her grandfather, there’s an old rotary phone and just these little touches that we had her grandparents in mind when we made those choices.

JWK: Do you two, basically, write the show yourselves? I think you also developed with a guy named Matthew Berry, right?

RC: Oh, Matthew Berry, we couldn’t have made the show without him! He’s so wonderful and full of great ideas! He’s a great producer! Yeah, we worked so closely with him. We crafted the show and then there was a small team of writers that actually hammered out the pages – then we’d come in an tweak it. Katy would really write a lot of the monologues, besides the improv stuff. So, it was a big group effort.

JWK: How long do you hope to be doing this show? Will it be like Mister Rogers where you’ll be doing this for thirty years?

RC: I heard Jeremy say in an interview that he hopes for 500 episodes.

KC: I think the plan around here is to make Mabel for a really long time for as (long) as we can. There are so many topics to explore and as Mabel says at the end of Season 1 – in our season finale – “There’s always lot to keep wondering about.” So, we’re excited to keep on wondering.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.