Ponies, please listen to the audio interview in this post. In it, Jayson Thiessen - supervising director and current showrunner of Friendship is Magic - speaks for 72 minutes to Equestria Daily about the upcoming Season 2. And it is glorious. All of it. Phoe and I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing him, but the stage is assuredly all his. After the break: Beauty.
Below, everypony will find an official press release and Season 2 screenshot (seen before) straight from The Hub, followed by a link to the Jayson Thiessen audio interview with Tekaramity and Phoe, both of Equestria Daily. That would be this site right here. In this interview, Jayson discusses all sorts of topics ranging from the beginning of Season 1 to the conclusion of Season 2 - and beyond. Most of his focus, though, is notably about Season 2.
First, thanks to every single awesome pony at The Hub and Hasbro for making this happen. *brohooves to you*
Second, thanks to Phoe for being the most awesome co-interviewer a Tek could ever want! Love you, dear friend. ^_^ *hugs forever*
Finally, thanks most of all to Jayson for being the most awesome interviewee known to man or pony! Please do stay 100% awesome. All of my gratitude and respect - take it.
“My Little Pony Friendship is Magic,” the animated TV series with an ultra “buzz factor” among audiences of all ages, returns for its second-season premiere Saturday, September 17 (9 a.m. ET) on The Hub TV Network, a destination for kids and their families. The critically lauded and much-talked-about Hub Original Series follows the studious young unicorn Twilight Sparkle as she and her five pony friends living in the fairytale village of Ponyville teach one another about the magic of friendship during their many adventures in the kingdom of Equestria.
Produced by Hasbro Studios, “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic” premieres with the first of a two-part episode called “The Return of Harmony” which introduces Discord, the mischievous spirit of disharmony, who escapes from his imprisonment in stone to threaten the peace of Equestria forcing Twilight and her friends to seek out the “Elements of Harmony” to defeat him. Encore presentations run Sunday, September 18 (8:00 a.m. ET) and Monday, September 19 (8:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. ET).
Enjoy:
Transcript (New!)
Love you all, pony fans! Tek out.
261 comments:
When we were initially offered this interview, we were ecstatic. As excited as everypony is for Season 2, getting the chance to speak with the Man in Charge of the whole operation about all the awesome stuff that's coming up was pretty much a dream come true. That went double as we've interviewed Jayson once before and knew going into things just how awesome of a guy he is. Naturally, Tek and I dug our hooves in and got ready to collaborate on another e-mail interview, as that's been the format we've followed for every interview conducted on Equestria Daily thus far. Imagine our surprise when we received a followup containing the words, "would a phone interview be ok?"
ReplyDeleteLids were flipped, let me tell you. I remember making a comment back during that first interview about wanting to turn Equestria Daily into a proper pony newspaper so that we could do proper interviews with followup questions and the like, to sit down with people like Jayson and get the inside scoop from them. Well guess what? It's happening! This site is affording us opportunities I would never in my wildest dreams have thought possible. Thank you so much Seth, for running this ship and letting me be a part of it. Thank you Cereal, for insight, support, and acting as a sound technician. Thank you Tek, for being an amazing partner. You're all among the most amazing ponies I've ever had the opportunity to work with on a professional level.
And major, major thanks to Jayson Thiessen for agreeing to this and just... talking to us for over an hour. You were stupendous, sir. I will never forget your insightful commentary, or how forthcoming you were on topics you would absolutely been justified in stonewalling us. Thank you to The Hub and Hasbro for offering this opportunity and agreeing to all of this in the first place. This level of openness and interaction is virtually unprecedented. How easy would have been to just keep the fans at arms length, knowing we'd stick around for the show without any extra effort. We see you reaching out to us, and we appreciate it more than words can express. And last but far from least, thanks to each and every one of you reading this and listening, and everypony who has ever called themselves a brony. The community is what drives all of this. Without you, there is no Equestria Daily. There is no interview, no talking, no anything. You're the best. Peace out.
Listening RIGHT now. Pretty pumped!
ReplyDeleteYES
ReplyDeleteListening now. :D
ReplyDeleteJayson is seriously a badass. He blew away my all of my expectations in this interview.
ReplyDeleteSaturday can not come fast enough! :D
ReplyDeleteReally impressed he took time out of his schedule for us!
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't you guys make a transcript?
ReplyDeleteHaha. Rare occasion seeing non-pony picture on article like that. I kinda made me stop for a second there.
ReplyDeleteGah, I'm having a hard enough time Marathoning the series, now I have to add this to the pile of things to do before season 2 as well!
ReplyDeleteWait, it's spelled "Phee?"
ReplyDeleteI've been saying "Phoe" (Like "Foe") this entire time!
Best birthday present since Animaniacs premiered on my birthday!
ReplyDeleteI love this fandom.
ReplyDeleteOh cool!
ReplyDeleteAny chance of getting an .mp3 download?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to listen to this during a drive I've got to take tomorrow.
@BlueNight
ReplyDeleteI'm so jelly right now
@MintBerryCrunch
ReplyDeleteRight click, save as. :)
Mutual appreciation.
ReplyDeleteI like this guy...
ReplyDeleteI wanted to go to bed already, but this is way more important that sleeping.
ReplyDeleteTotally listening right now.
I LOVE this guy. Everypony come to BroNYCon on September 24 so you can meet him! :D
ReplyDeleteListening in now before I go to bed. XD
ReplyDeleteWell, I know what I'm going to be listening to on the bus today
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAudio Interview with jayson has just made my day alot better.
ReplyDelete@Phoe
ReplyDeleteThanks. For some reason I kind of derped, and actually right-clicking the link itself didn't occur to me.
Looking forward to hearing this.
Jayson looks like a badass.
ReplyDeleteFriendship is Mutual.
ReplyDeleteAwesome.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is awesome! Thanks for doing the interview, Tek and Phoe!
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for this for a couple days. MUST LISTEN WITH HASTY.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they keep referring to themselves as ponies? Thats kinda weird.
ReplyDeleteInitial reaction: fascinating, impressive, and surprising.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt's right about time for a big, fat "thank you" to Phoe, Seth, Tek, Cereal and each and everypony who's working on EQD.
Thanks for all your work and efforts! You guys are simply the best.
Awesome interview! This brightened my day a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jayson, for taking the time to fill us in on the fun that's coming in Season 2, and for all your kindness and consideration toward the Brony fandom, as well as to Sethisto, Phoe, and everyone else who works so tirelessly to keep us all informed! :D
ReplyDeleteSimply amazing!
ReplyDelete@Phoe
ReplyDeleteYeah! What she said!
(Impressively eloquent and verbose, Phoe)
@Phoe
ReplyDeleteWait, so is it 'Phee' or 'Phoe'?
I'M SO CONFUSED
OH! THAT IS SO AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of this show, and With the new Director, I felt a little scared, but I now know that this will be the best 2nd season.
Thank you for interviewing him SO MUCH.
Your Best Bud,
Plankydude
requesting tl;dr version
ReplyDelete@Monix
ReplyDeletepronounced 'fee', spelled 'Phoe'
Transcript please.
ReplyDeleteThis made my day. You have a good voice, Tek. You should do something in the Q & Neigh.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it start over around 12:00?
ReplyDeleteYou guys are like the 60 Minutes of the FIM fandom. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteOh so very awesome. An full-blown phone interview with Jayson. I'm sure you guys were trying as hard as possible to contain your excitement the entire time. Jayson is such a wonderful and nice guy, I'm not all that surprised he wouldn't mind taking some time out of his schedule to have a good chat with the fans about MLP:FiM and answering any questions he could.
ReplyDeleteThank you guys for conducting this interview. Thank you to Jayson for taking the time to take part in it. And thank you Brony community for just supporting such an awesome show and crew and being so awesome yourselves. :)
I HAVE A SPEECH TO DO SO I CAN'T LISTEN YET UGHHH
ReplyDelete@Taco
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I can't replicate that error...
@Mike
ReplyDeleteYou just blew my mind Mike.
Listening to it btw. Jayson is such a bro.
Salvador Dali does not appear on the show.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad now.
AWESOME interview by the way :D
Also, 40M incoming!
@BlueNight
ReplyDeleteMan, all I got on my birthday was Nostalgia Critic's interview of the cast of Animaniacs.
Indeed, Good Sir Thiessen is best pony.
ReplyDeleteThat aside though, I find it much funnier in my mind to imagine that he's been trying to get interviewed in person by Equestria Daily since it's creation in some sort of twisted reverse fanboyism, and that HIS dream was finally made true. Now he's running around showing all his friends the site and bragging how actually did it after all this time. Haha. Silly.
Lauren Faust will always be the beloved creator of the show but Jayson Thiessen is the new figurehead of the show! Torch has been passed!
ReplyDeleteI would recommend you guys make a transcript for me to skim through, I'd gladly listen but I'm a little tied up at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI wanna listen to the interview, but if it's about Season 2, won't there be major spoilers?! I don't wanna wait until season 2 is completed to listen ;__;
ReplyDeleteIF JAYSON READS THESE COMMENTS:
ReplyDeleteThere were 100,000 individual IP's on Equestria Daily in February. Accounting for the growth in Google searches, there are roughly 5 to 10 times more now; probably around a million bronies at the moment, and counting.
@mizu-takishima They've finished the Season 2 part of the discussion and there were no spoilers. He legally can't reveal, anyway!
ReplyDelete@Mike
ReplyDeleteAlso; When in doubt, ask Sethisto. I bet he's still got those numbers somewhere. That will make Hasbro happy.
@CupcakesNom oh okay, thanks! :D
ReplyDeleteFriendship is Mutual. My first thought was "That will be a meme." Jayson agrees, let's make it so.
ReplyDeleteFriendship is MUTUAL!
ReplyDeleteAlso, poor (or silly?) Jayson afraid that Season 2 will disappoint us :P
And to just think I've been following this blog since it first set it's roots, it's just... amazing. Not even a year ago this blog was nothing more than one of the thousands upon thousands in the vast, vast internet ocean, a little island in the middle of nowhere, and now? We get references from some of the most popular websites, it's a world-wide known site and a keystone of one of the biggest, if not the biggest, social phenomenons! A phenomenon that will be written down in history books and make the greatest minds ponder how it came to be!
It's feels so amazing to watch such a tiny seed grow into such a mighty tree.
P.s. Phoe, Seth, Cereal and Tek, you guys rock, good job at being bloody awesome!
My Little Bronies: Friendship is Mutual
ReplyDeleteI've got so much love for the folks running EQD for making this interview happen and for running this blog in general, and Mr. Thiessen for just being awesome.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say this is the best fandom I've ever been a part of. I love all you crazy pony folk. <3
Neither my mind, body, nor soul are ready for this! I'm not worthy!
ReplyDeleteUh... some time between 11:30 and 12:15, I think Tek called Jayson 'Honey'. Anyone else catch that?
ReplyDeleteFriendship is Mutual!
ReplyDeleteThis just happened:
ReplyDeleteJayson: "There is stuff in the works, let's just say, that could potentially uh.... could potentially... make a splash."
Then, suddenly in my head:
"Shoo bee doo, shoo shoo be doo!"
Oh god, Sea Ponies!
Minor characters?
ReplyDelete... YOU MEAN LUNA? :D
ALL MY LOVE <3
@Kadreal
ReplyDeleteI still say FiM sea ponies would EPIC!
@Mint Jelly
ReplyDeleteActually, he saud "pony".
"We are approaching an event every pony was waiting for"
........................
ReplyDelete>User Flygon16 is AFK, reassembling the various pieces of his brain that exploded out the back of his head upon seeing this post.
Send Tek and Phoe next time and every time something like this happens. They just fit. Seth has a voice I can't listen to very much, and Cereal, well, who cares about Cereal. (jk)
ReplyDeleteWow, first I was like "I'm not sure if I can keep up listening to all of this" cause it's way too late for me already.
ReplyDeleteBut I did and I'm glad I did, thanks so much for the amazing interview!
I wonder if that Jim Miller is the same Jim Miller as the "Big" Jim Miller? If yes, OMG! Season two is going to be so amazing! *fanboy squeak*
ReplyDeletePhoe has a really nice radio voice, like someone from NPR.
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome to hear that the people behind the show are that pumped about it, but after season one I didn't really have any doubts on that front.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigjimsucks.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteJim Millers' blog.
Is it just me or did he kinda strongly hint that Trixie is coming back in Season 2? When asked if one-shots like Trixie and Zecora might come back he mentioned that, "You'll be seeing some ponies return... and other creatures." Hmm. HMMMM!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm2638285/
ReplyDeleteJim Miller confirmed as Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy's past storyboard artist.
@CupcakesNom
ReplyDeleteI'm more interested what he meant by those creatures :P
IS Owlowiscious coming back? The green dragon? IS BLOOMBERG GOING TO HAVE HIS OWN EPISODE?!
Think, think, think...
That was very informative. I'm he made the time for this. And Tek, I have to say, you were a bit to star struck there maybe. It was rather adorable in a way. I mean, sure, you want to be polite to the guy and you want to make sure he knows how much you appreciate both the time he is taking for the interview and his role on the show in general. but it was perhaps a bit to much.
ReplyDeleteStill, I'm sure he loved every minute of it. Like I said, it was rather adorable and I'm still grinning.
Just finished listening to this now.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love how humble Jayson was throughout, he's awesome.
Tek and Phoe were great too.
Loved every minute!
Anticipation levels for season 2 greatly increased =)
@Wolf I'd be shocked if Owlowiscious didn't show up in Season 2 at all. And having either adult dragon show up would be pretty cool. Hm, a Little Strongheart-centric episode could be cool, and it'd be an excuse to have a Thunderbird in the show. ... SEASON TWO WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME
ReplyDeleteThis was pretty enlightening and entertaining. Like everypony else, so much looking forward to things <3
ReplyDelete@Wolf: "IS BLOOMBERG GOING TO HAVE HIS OWN EPISODE?!"
ReplyDeleteActually, Bloomberg's going to be part of a spin-off series, "The Adventures of Bloomberg and Fluttertree".
@jodyjm13
ReplyDeleteI loled.
SO HARD
@jodyjm13
ReplyDelete^This.
Also, Q? Seriously? Q?!
Jayson on animators; "I've seen stuff that they've put in the show that we weren't exactly asking for and it made the show better."
ReplyDeleteThe anticipation!
The anticipation!
*faint*
Is Phoe a guy or girl?
ReplyDelete...did anyone else fall off of their chair when Jayson mentioned that they CIRCULATE FAN STUFF AMONG EACH OTHER?!?!
ReplyDeleteGeez... I've heard of fans drooling over canon, but never creators drooling over fanon...
BEST. FANDOM. EVER!!!
@jodyjm13
ReplyDeleteDo want!
Episode 1; "Bloomberg meets Fluttertree"
Start of the episode.
Bloomber and Fluttertree in one frame.
Bunny hops from one end of the frame to another.
The End.
@CupcakesNom So I see I'm not the only one who's thought of the thunderbird before.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is exploding with joy right about now o3o
ReplyDeleteSaturday must hurry. I am so excited.
"We have Bronies on staff."
ReplyDelete@NotAGoodUsername360 Probably meant fanart.
ReplyDeleteWell, now I know what to do for the next 72 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThank you guys for doing this, and most of all, thanks to Mr. Thiessen!
Phoe sounds so adorable. She seems really nervous in this. Voice is very shaky.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU JASON. WOO. ALL CAPS IS HOW EXCITED I AM AFTER LISTENING TO THIS.
ReplyDeleteActually, Jason, there IS precedence...
ReplyDeleteThink hard.
Cheesy exterior making it appear to be cheap and crappy to the average viewer.
AMAZING quality on the interior that attracts a DEDICATED fanbase.
Fanbase gains notoriety for its exceptionally nerdy appearance.
More fans are attracted exponentially to discover what the fuss is about.
Fanbase NEVER ceases to grow. EVER.
Fans are nicknamed with a term ending with "ie" or "y".
Give up? Ask John de Lancie- I'm sure he might know... :3
Let it be known that every time that Tek stifled a squee I was made incredibly happy
ReplyDeleteWaitaminute, Jayson lurked on Ponychan? And possibly still lurks? Dude...
ReplyDeleteWow, that was really interesting. Very nice of Jayson to do such an in-depth interview, I enjoyed hearing his thoughts on everything. Phoe and Tekaramity were great hosts too. Thank you for the excellent interview!
ReplyDeleteWhy is there a HUMAN face stickied to the top of the blog? UGH!
ReplyDelete@NotAGoodUsername360
ReplyDeleteYou, sir, have posted the best comment.
@mycutiemarkisagun because he is making ponies.
ReplyDeleteJayson - "The Everfree Forest has a mind of its own." Oh god, queue the fanfics!
ReplyDeleteThis was just awesome to listen to. Every interview just keeps getting me more and more hyped for season 2; I just can't wait!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jayson for doing this, and thank you so much Phoe and Tek for doing this too. It was so fun to listen too and has me giddy in anticipation!
This was just awesome to listen to. Every interview just keeps getting me more and more hyped for season 2; I just can't wait!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jayson for doing this, and thank you so much Phoe and Tek for doing this too. It was so fun to listen too and has me giddy in anticipation!
Jayson is so awesome. Friendship IS mutual. Don't worry Jayson you can't disappoint us, Fanon is fanon but Canon is CANON.
ReplyDeleteYay world building!
We get a good look into Jayson's thoughts and feelings on the show from this interview. I like that.
I don’t think this show can be hyped enough. Oh man the wait and anticipation is starting to get to me. Just 4 more days.
Thank-you Jayson for giving the interview and pass all our thanks onto the rest of the team. All your effort and creativity is greatly appreciated. Thank-you Tekaramity and Phoe, for getting the interview. Thank-you Hasbro and The Hub for allowing the interview and having MLP: FiM made in the first place. Thank-you Seth and Cereal for Equestria Daily and thank-you Bronies for making this the greatest fandom in the history of forever.
Can a News post be marked as 6-Star?
"Salvador Dali will not be making an appearance."
ReplyDeleteWhelp, I'm out. Nice knowing y'all. Have fun with your non-melting cartoon.
[/sarcasm]
"... that haven't had an episode. We'll focus on one of those people."
ReplyDelete"We'll focus on one of those people."
"on one of those"
"one"
Luna? :3
Very good interview. One thing that bothered me though is that Jason didn't seem to realize exactly how large the Brony audience is. He said something about how a majority of the audience is little girls, but I would have to disagree. Yes, little girls do like it, but I would still have to say that Bronies have a majority of the demographics. He didn't seem very aware of all the fan work out there (except for maybe a few songs and videos). Regardless, I still enjoyed playing Minecraft and listening to this (Ponies and minecraft. A perfect combination lol)
ReplyDeleteI hope Hasbro releases some merchandise for the older demographic as well.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like a person that really loves working on the show and hopes it keeps going. So do I, so do I.
I am glad I wasn't giving the interview, I'd be like, "Spoil me!" and "Is Luna going to be awesome in season 2?"
I'd be a really bad interviewer.
Jayson - "We do bring the cast to brink of their destruction in certain occasions and it's very emotional in a lot of times times..."
ReplyDelete@AspectOfTheStorm We're certainly the most VOCAL audience of the show, and most creative by far, but I don't think we have any numbers to indicate that adult fans outnumber child watchers. Though I would say that, on average, the adult fans have more money per person than the children do... SO GIVE US A REASON TO SPEND IT, HASBRO. :D
ReplyDeletegod this sounds too cool!!! so extremely excited.
ReplyDeleteJayson about endings - "We tried to make them unexpected wherever we can"
ReplyDeleteBronies, expect the unexpected...
50 minutes in.
ReplyDeleteI just made a rough draft 'Freindship Is Mutual' logo. Going to put it up as the first thing on my DA. Lol. http://thatonepony.deviantart.com/
ReplyDeleteI love how Tek and Phoe kept getting over-excited and having to take moments to breath and collect themselves.
ReplyDeleteI love you ponies to death, but SO many unasked questions!
ReplyDeleteIs it just me or his Jayson so much more relaxed by the end of the interview?
ReplyDelete@jeffbridges
ReplyDeleteFAR to many questions to fit into one interview. This one was over an hour and every second of it was packed with interesting stuff.
That was a great interview. I can't wait for season 2 to start!
ReplyDeleteI am double clearing my weekend now....is that even possible? Can you clear your weekend twice?
ReplyDeleteUES!
Wha? Who dat?
I love that Jayson seemed to be geeking out over all the fan response just as much as we geek out over all the awesome work he and his team do!
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank any an everypony who talks about, reads, writes, creates and of course supports MLP : FiM. When I joined this fandom I hardly had any friends and now I have millions! Thank you all!
ReplyDeleteSo Jayson is confirmed for being a total bro. Not even just a brony. Full-on bro status has been achieved here.
ReplyDeleteAlso, listening to Tek mutter, "Oh, Lyra..." will most likely be the highlight of my week.
That was the single greatest thing I have listened to. I didn't know it was possible to be more excited about Season 2.
ReplyDeleteTek, Phoe, Jayson...heck, even Seth and Cereal: all of my love to you guys, to the stellar team behind the show, and the amazing fans who decided to give a chance to a little girls' cartoon about colorful horses. This has just been an incredible event, socially, historically, and emotionally, and I'm awed to be a part of it. May the spirit of bronydom live long past its origins (though I hope those continue on for quite some time as well ;D)!
ReplyDeleteJayson - "I've known some people that started out as fans of a show and ended up working for the show... it's not impossible."
ReplyDeleteWell, there's something most of us can dream about :)
And who knows, maybe some of us WILL end up working for MLP? That'd be great!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@Wolf
ReplyDeleteI can see it now, after 4 great seasons, the show is taken off the air. It's become so big and popular that fans create an entire 5th season all their own. Written, animated, acted and viewed by the fans.
That was surprisingly not akward. Tek was pretty good at leading the interview. And what a sexy Canadian accent Jayson has. In a platonic way.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, props to all involved.
ReplyDeleteOne thing though keeps bothering me, did you guys really had to say "ponies" instead of "people" every single freaking time. Not only it got old like last year, it felt really forced and seemed to weird Jayson out a little.
The fanboyism is this was utterly palpable. :P
ReplyDeleteI wish you had asked about Luna.
ReplyDeletethis is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteBut why the quirky download link?
It would be nice if you guys would host it somewhere where we could stream it (tindeck?)
@MaKS
ReplyDeleteActually, he chastised us for using "everybody" instead of "everypony" in the brief chat we had with him prior to the interview proper. But hey.
wow, an hour long? I'm gonna have to download this and listen to it tomorrow on my ipod on my way home from school
ReplyDeleteNo, the pleasure was mine.
ReplyDelete@MaKS
ReplyDeleteIt didn't "get old". It's an incredibly common thing in the fandom. And Jayson didn't seem at all put off by it. In fact, he used "pony" several times himself, even going as far as to correct himself when he didn't.
THIS IS BY FAR THE ABSOLUTE BEST ANIMATED SHOW ON TELEVISION.
ReplyDeleteNO BUTS ABOUT IT.
I was blown away when Jayson talked about how they didn't expect the massive fanbase explosion in response to this show. Everyone loves it because the producers actually CARE about the show, and the show dares to go where no other show dares. It's not all bubbles and candy in Equestria.... There are hostile creatures. There are problems. There are not always happy endings. There are rather cruel life lessons. The world is not perfect.
If anything, this show is morally more realistic than any other animated TV show. While the show runs in slice-of-life fashion, the world of Equestria isn't perfect and there are a ton of problems. Just like in real life. This show teaches kids that the world is not perfect, but they can still have a magical time if they look for the good things instead of the bad. I'm so glad I got into this fandom; it was one of the best decisions of my life. The content is endless. Who would've thought that My Little Pony, a cheesy toy line from Hasbro, would be NEXTGENNED into an absolutely epic animated television series? I sure didn't. But then I started watching. And. I. Felt. The. Magic.
This show has taken the stereotypes of My Little Pony and blasted them to the moon. It does NOT abide by ANY of the MLP stereotypes. Limited to no hair-brushing, dressing-up, tea-drinking, or mumbling about shallow childish things. The characters are incredibly deep and complex, and aren't shallow characters you'd see in a TV show such as Rocket Power. They have personalities, they have F-A-U-L-T-S, they have feelings, and they are limited by realistic social restraints.
The previous generation sucked because the characters were shallow and the moral was stupid. This one was done right. My Little Pony is no longer a toy series; it is an animated television series for all ages. In my mind, MLP the toy line and MLP the TV series are two different things.
Everything in this show's production is excellent. Excellent animation, voice acting, plot, character design, classic nostalgic influences, and moral. Hair-brushing? No. Slapstick comedy. Tea-drinking? No. Dragon ass-kicking. Dressing up? Somewhat. But there's the episode "Suited for Success" that pokes holes in the "perfect" little pony dress stereotype.
I introduced this show to my kiddy-stuff-hating family, AND NOW THEY ALL LOVE IT. I'm a sixteen year old DUDE, and I love My Little Pony. Screw the toy line. The TV series is where it's at.
This is my favorite TV show, ever. Too bad it has to mingle with comparably shitty badly-done profit-driven serieses like Strawberry Shortcake. The animators love the show, they love making it, they love the community and the community loves them. They wouldn't have wrangled millions of people, millions of ADULTS, with MY LITTLE PONY, if they didn't do something oh so awesomely right.
That's all I have to say.
@Phoe
ReplyDeletePhoe, I cannot express how much you, Tek and Jayson have made my night tonight. Thank you from the bottom of my new bottomless heart.
Wow, I am so hyped about season 2 and so delighted by this interview. Thank you.
@Phoe
ReplyDeleteThis settles it, Jason is awesome. More awesome than he already was.
>hiring fans to work on the show
ReplyDelete...
*takes out "WILL WRITE FOR SPOILERS" sign*
...soon...
XD
@Phoe
ReplyDeleteI actually liked when he slipped up and referred to the pony characters as "people". To have him think of them as living personalities is pretty cool.
that was pretty pretty great! Great interview.
ReplyDeleteJust listened to the whole thing, start to finish. Totally worth my time, and if you have enough free time, you should hear it too. It was great to get a behind-the-scenes look from the guy who's basically running the show, and it was awesome to hear them discuss how great season 2 is gonna be. New creatures, return of one-shot ponies from S1, (Trixie?) more ties to mythology, great villains, (emphasis on the plural, so there's more than discord) more about the history of equestria, episode endings that will blow your mind, and kind of an arc underlying the whole thing? Excuse me...
ReplyDeleteYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES! If I wasn't pumped before, I sure as hell am now.
Was "Riley K." one of the interviewers? I think I can hear her voice, but I'm not entirely sure.
ReplyDelete@NotAGoodUsername360
ReplyDeleteYou work on the show, I'll make the games. :D
Jason is a nice down-to-earth/soft spoken/humble kind of guy. I really like that about him.
ReplyDeletedoes this mean we will see The Great and Powerful trixie.
ReplyDeleteEverything about this interview made me giddy.
ReplyDeleteJayson mentions at the ten-minute mark about how he's impressed that the fans have taken the message of the show-that friendship is magic, presumably--to heart, and it' s broken through the cynicism you usually see on the internet. That's something that's impressed me, as well. Obviously there's still some negativity in the fanbase, but for the most part, the overall tendency in fanworks and whatnot has been to promote messages of love and friendship.
Actually, this interview itself is just more evidence that there's love coming in from all sides, here. The fans love the creators of the show, the creators acknowledge it and love them back. Love's just flying all over the place. This love is apparent both in the TV show, and in the fanworks associated with it.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. I try to find words to describe it, but all I really know is that I'm glad this community exists.
Thanks to Jayson, Tekaramity, Phoe, Cereal, Seth, and everybody else. Y'all make my day.
Awesome interview is awesome! I would love to see more stuff like this on Equestria Daily in the future!
ReplyDeleteThank again to Jayson, Lauren, and all the talented staff and crew for making such a great, lovable show.
You guys rock! Keep it up!
^_^
Hang on, didn't someone say Granny Smith was going to have some awresome moments on Srason 2? And minor-character centric episodes...
ReplyDeleteGranny Smith episode ho!
To the EqD staff and to Mr. Thiessen and his team especially (if you are reading sir, and I truly hope you are), I want to offer both my most sincere thanks, and kudos, for all the time and effort that goes into this laudable series and that is dedicated to the fandom who loves it. I'm a relative newcomer to FiM honestly and while I quickly grew to love the show after giving it a chance, it's absolutely the fandom and the obvious care and passion of the team who work on the series that made me a real fan. I am constantly amazed, and very impressed, by all involved in this community.
ReplyDeleteI've unashamedly fangeeked over plenty in my 30 years I can assure you, but the people and community involved with this series (ponies of all things, whoever would have guessed?) take things to a whole different level. And it is fabulous! <3
@NotAGoodUsername360
ReplyDeleteForget working for spoilers! I'll work for beatings! The pain, broken limbs, and ruptured organs will be worth it! I SHALL DIE IN PONY BLISS!! *now THERE'S a true obsessive fan!* XD
I LOVE YOU JASON!!!!! <3
ReplyDeleteThis is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Good ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best thing.
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ReplyDeletethankyou infinite muffins Jason!!! i wish you the BEST of luck! i feel so very greatful to know what you are working your hardest for us!! damn these screens! i must hug! =D
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!
Can't wait to host Jayson at BroNYCon September! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is Epic
ReplyDeleteJust finished listening and thought I'd throw my thanks into the pile. Thank you very much to everypony involved in the making of this show and also everypony involved with EQD that made this possible! You guy's are the best!
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ReplyDelete@Wolf
ReplyDeleteThey bring the cast to the brink of destruction?! Holy crap... holy CRAP!!! I think this means that Discord is going to be as much like Q as we imagine... With a touch of HIM (the PPG lobster-claw version of Satan) thrown in! How can he be defeated? WILL he really be defeated?! Season 2 Y U NO COME FASTER??!!
Oh, and Jayson is th most awesomest director in the universe of all times! :3
This is fantastic. Jayson is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteZecora is more of a secondary Character not a one off character. Her Residence is within Ponyville limits
ReplyDeleteTek and Phoe; I knew I chose you two as the best EqD staff that Saturday night on the livestream.
ReplyDeleteThe Eagle has landed.
-SoB
Looks like I know what I'm listening to on my 30+ mile drive to class tomorrow! :D
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ReplyDeleteWelp, this is it. This is the moment. The director of a show has just talked for over an hour with two members of a fansite about said show, as laid-back and comfortably as if the three are plain old friends. This is something golden that's just happened here, something downright surreal in the best of ways.
ReplyDeleteI love this community.
AGH! I had to pause the stream for a few minutes and when I restarted it... it started over! And there is no way to skip to where I was again :<
ReplyDeleteGaruuSpike accurately observed: **Who would've thought that My Little Pony, a cheesy toy line from Hasbro, would be NEXTGENNED into an absolutely epic animated television series?**
ReplyDeleteNobody. But then Lauren Faust, to quote Rainbow Dash, "made the impossible...happen."
And the impossible success of MLP:FiM shows what can happen to any creative property when it's run by a person with vision. From all accounts, Lauren was determined to create a GOOD show for girls, one that was intelligent and imaginative, and to do this, she extrapolated on the basic My Little Pony premise and lavished it with wit, imagination and originality. It's the sort of thing Walt Disney himself used to do with any property he bought the rights to. I can't think of any higher praise than that. Lauren is truly one who has walked in the footsteps of Walt. And, although she's no longer with the show, it sounds like Jay is following *her* very closely. So I can't wait to see the second season of this little miracle of a show. Brohoof to all involved! May there be many seasons to come!
this is AWESOME!!!
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable listen with a good bit of insight. <3 Even balloons would not make it better.
ReplyDeletethis is history in the makeing
ReplyDeleteExpectations not high enough? Send them to the MOOOOOOOOON!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was amazing! Props to everyone who works on the show and the whole fan community. Listening to that made me explode, then explode again with awesomeness!
ReplyDelete@Alondro
ReplyDeleteI don't think he meant the first two episode, for me it sounded more as if he was speaking of few episodes in season two instead.
It seems we're going to see more of Flutterrage, Psycho Pie, Insane Sparkle, Broken Dash (B&W dash?), Workaholic Jack and Marshmallow. :)
This is fantastic news! I'm downloading the interview as I type this. This has so many ramifications:
ReplyDelete1. Hasbro, the Hub, the devolpment team. They all consider EQ Daily a proper news site. This is recognition of a scale all of it's own.
2. This opens a line between EQ Daily and the dev team. In fact, its an exclusive. What does this mean? We can expect more content and dialoge between EQ Daily and the dev team. Basically, they can now use EQ Daily as a media/marketing platform, and EQ Daily can get news directly from the "horse's mouth", if you forgive the pun.
3. Did I mention exclusive? Nobody else can get these stories. This solidifies EQ Daily not just as the biggest pony related blog, it is THE PREMIER pony related blog. When people need news about the show, EQ Daily will be the first place people will come to. And that is awesome!
As a journalism student, this whole thing makes me giggly with delight. It isn't often you get to see these things in motion, as they happen. Thank you Phoe and Tek for bringing this interview to us, thank you Jayson for working with us! I have a feeling this will be a long and prosperous arangement, for all sides.
Jayson you seem like the coolest guy! You remind me of Julian Koster in a certain way!
ReplyDeleteJayson sounds like a totally cool and humble guy. What and amazing interview EQ Daily managed to get, I love this fandom.
ReplyDeleteJust like to say that you guys are awesome interviewers, loving how you frame your questions. Makes me wonder if Tek is a pro at this. He should work for a news organization if he wasn't already working on this better one.
ReplyDeleteAlso thanks and ect to the Pony team, you all are well loved, and you sound awesome Jayson, be proud.
@ToonNinja
ReplyDeleteJayson posted on Ponychan way back in March. :D
http://www.ponychan.net/chan/arch/res/6286.html
The interviewers seemed really nervous for the majority of the interview....
ReplyDeleteGuys you are all missing out on something important. Tek and Phoe need to be shipped.
ReplyDeleteKidding, Enjoyed the hell out of the interview and it left me really wanting for Saturday.
Good Job Equestria Daily, you constantly impress the HELL out of me.
Mucho gusto ._.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Thiessen
Phoe seemed very cool and calm. Tek seemed nervous as fuck. And frankly, I can't blame him. Its Jayson Theisson. How could he not be?
ReplyDeleteThis show has to have one of the greatest and most flexible fanbases ever. We all know that Friendship is Magic will forever be a children show, and because of this, the demographic of adult viewers unfortunately will never see anything as Jason said, 'Avant Guard'. However, the makers totally approve of the entire spectrum that MLP gets. For example, we may never see actual zombie ponies in the canon show, but they are "possible", and sure enough, dedicated fans who make flash games based on the show, have included "zombie ponies" and thus expanded on the mythos of the makers world. All the grimdark stuff, even the porn for the most part, have mostly been made in a non cynical, and hilariously dedicated way, so we the fans can actually build on the franchise whilst the show can stay on topic towards a general audience, effectively, through dedication and support, we the fans can make the series live up to our own expectations anyways. I mean, we're getting a MLP fighting game for Christ's sake, and it looks awesomely professional!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this post, my eyes bugged out of my head! Wow!
ReplyDeleteI wasted absolutely no time in listening to the MP3 with my wife. Phoe, Tek, thank you for conducting such an awesome interview.
It sounded to me like everyone involved was just ridiculously happy to be doing the interview. Tek and Phoe being so happy about interviewing Jayson, and Jayson sounded so happy that the show has so many genuinely supportive fans! There was definitely a lot of enthusiasm there. :D
I emphathize with Phoe--I'd probably lose my own composure due to giddy happiness. It's hard not to get excited, you know? It's not like we fans can really be an objective third party. ;)
Everything everyone has said about Season 2 makes me really look forward to it even more. I really can't wait. I've never been so excited about anything like this in my life.
I was there back when Jayson posted on Ponychan. It was early in the morning, and my wife couldn't sleep. I stayed up late like I usually do. I was like "OMG THE SUPERVISING DIRECTOR OF MLP IS POSTING ON PONYCHAN! EEEEE!" My wife just smiled, shook her head and called me a dork. She loves the show, too, mind you. XD
I'll admit I'm just babbling at this point. To wrap everything up, I'll say this, and I mean it: a HUGE thank you goes out to Lauren Faust, Jayson Thiessen, and every single last person on the production crew. Thank you, Hasbro, for allowing this awesome show to exist in the first place. Thank you, everyone at EqD, for this awesome blog. And thanks to all my fellow bronies. This is the BEST. FANDOM. EVER!!!
My thanks to Tek, Phoe, and Jayson for such a great and thoroughly enjoyable interview. I'm definitely excited heading into season 2 now.
ReplyDeleteOh and Jayson, I know you're probably lurking these comments, thanks for mentioning your favorite podcast Skeptics Guide to the Universe during your last written interview. You got me totally hooked on it, I love science and critical thinking. Listening to your interview here is as pleasurable as listening to one of their episodes. I hope that adequately conveys my compliment to you. =)
Aw. He said he liked my costumes! (Yes, I made THOSE costumes. :P) Hurrah! \o/
ReplyDeleteThiessen x Faust
ReplyDeletehehe XD
Hoping for something much more non-kiddy, non-girly, grimdark, horror for season two! Just a little bit more. Also, spoilers, but that place Discord is seen in, seems very...alice-in-wonderland-like. [/spoilers]
***But really guys. It's... the spoilers really aren't that much a surprise, or something to die for. Yknow, not worth torturing yourself with curiosity bursting out your chest I'm sure. Just let go, and check it out yourself, rather than getting 'hurt' when you accidently set foot on a spoiler posted by someone else. I think... Hasbro MEANT it to be seen. Yknow, advertisement kinda thing. Anyway,
LOL man, I can't listen to 70+ minutes of this.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the diehard Tupac fans that had CDs of the dude just talking in interviews for hours. LOL no.