Disney, with its intrinsic association with Mickey Mouse, is synonymous with family entertainment. And while kid-friendly fare will always have a place at the company – which manages channels such as Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior – teen and unscripted formats are becoming ever more important.

Playback caught up with Paul DeBenedittis, SVP of programming strategy at Disney Channels Worldwide, ahead of the Banff World Media Festival, where the company will receive the Company of Distinction honour. While DeBenedittis himself won’t be at the festival, a team of Disney programming execs will be attending, including keynotes Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment and Patrick Moran, president of ABC Studios.

While at Banff, execs will be on the hunt for one new series for each of its three platforms: Disney Channel (six to 11, with a core target of girls age nine), Disney XD (six to 11, with a core target of boys age eight) and Disney Junior (two to five).

DeBenedittis said he’s hoping to find the next PJ Masks, a recent Canadian acquisition produced by eOne in collaboration with Disney Junior and French broadcaster France 6. Originally picked up by Disney Junior in 2015, the series depicts characters who turn into superheroes when they put their pyjamas on. The September 2015 premiere drew in 1.6 million unique viewers on premiere, with a 29% share of two- to five-year-olds in the U.S., according to eOne.

DeBenedittis thinks the show is a unique find for the network because of its strong focus on character and story, while still appealing to the pre-school-aged demographic.

With the bar set high and the network always looking to diversify, Playback set to find out just what the team at Disney wants next.

Which genres and formats are you interested in this year?

DeBenedittis: On the animation side, we’re always looking for great stories and great characters. But on the live-action front, [which airs mostly on Disney Channel and Disney XD] we’re looking to diversify our offering. Reality or non-scripted is of interest to us and that can take so many different sizes and shapes. Specifically, we’re looking more at the documentary-style, non-competition reality shows that create a compelling story.

We’ve done a variety of non-scripted series over the years such as Next X [a docu-style series with an integrated competition element that hunts for the next young action sports star] and most recently, Walk the Prank, [which blends scripted comedy with unscripted, hidden-camera pranks].

We’ve also seen kids attracted to many of the non-scripted shows that exist across the general entertainment landscape. We’re not looking to duplicate those series, but rather find unique ways to deliver programming in ways that fit the Disney brand.

The one area we’re probably not looking for is competition, big-stage, formatted game shows. That’s not what we need right now.

The acquisition of PJ Masks was a huge success for Disney. What can Canadian producers learn from that pitch?

DeBenedittis: I think it shows that you need rich characters, and it needs to be a series with a very strong point of view. It was an example of a show that was well written with the fantasy and roleplay element, but it’s also just wonderful storytelling.

The stories showcase positive behaviour and depict friendship, teamwork and making decisions, and that all actions have consequences.

Aside from wonderful storytelling, what are audiences hungry for right now?

DeBenedittis: We have a volume of platform choices [Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and others], which has created a volume of different titles. Today, kids are discovering shows that were made years and years ago on various platforms.

As content providers, we need to always look for unique stories that will stand out among the many available choices. Audiences are looking for shows that have a meaningful impact to a kid. There needs to be something fantastical in the storytelling, something that feels so unique that it breaks out of the clutter.

Andi Mack [pictured, executive-produced by Lizzie McGuire creator Terri Minsky, The Breakfast Club‘s Michelle Manning and Good Luck Charlie‘s Phil Baker] is our latest live-action series on Disney Channel, and it has completely come out with a story that is relatable in a unique way. The series follows 13-year-old Andi who tries to navigate her way through adolescence while exploring the mystery of her paternity. It’s also somewhat serialized, which is fairly new in the
kids’ space.

That’s something we’re exploring and doing more of because we recognize in the binge world that [format] is working in the general entertainment category.

What are some other recent commissions that have been strong for Disney?
DeBenedittis: Hotel T (an adaptation of Hotel Transylvania), from Nelvana and Sony, is coming this June. We’ve also done a variety of coproductions and acquisitions with Lego, most recently Lego Friends. Over on XD, we most recently acquired a variety of new things. The big one is Pokémon. We have Pokémon, Yo-kai Watch and Beyblade, and all three form a block of this anime adventure genre, which has been performing really well for Disney.