Over the past few years, many TV shows designed for and marketed towards children have amassed large adult / new adult fan bases. My Little Pony, Miraculous Ladybug, Owl House, and She-Ra are some examples. What is it about children’s TV that draws older viewers in? Often these adult fandoms are active on platforms such as Reddit, do these platforms facilitate these fandoms or are the platforms merely making them more public? Or, from a different angle, does a large adult fan base have an impact on the trajectory of a children’s show? (Ex: Some of the shows listed showcased queer representation in later seasons that was largely cheered on by the older fans).
This topic works well with series made for teens as well. A good example is Skam, the Norwegian teen show which nearly everyone was watching when it was airing. – Misagh2 years ago
Looking into the fandoms, complete with conventions will be important to understanding these subcultures. – J.D. Jankowski2 years ago
Adventure Time, Summer Camp Island, and Over the Garden Wall are some more examples of "children's tv" that adults can also connect with. I believe that these shows, including the ones you've listed, are successful outside of their intended demographic because they don't talk down to their audience. – Vincent2 years ago
I think also diving into adult animation and anime would make this article take a cool turn. Adults have been into cartoons and sometimes cartoons are made for them. This is a little NSFW, but there is a SaberSpark episode on YouTube about the first sexual cartoon made in like 1910/20 and it is crazy! I think having a whole history on how adults have watched cartoons for many years could be great. Like even cartoon commercials in drive thru movies. – mynameisarianna2 years ago