Turning a page for the new year, industry vet Fred Soulie (pictured) has officially joined the board of directors at Hidden Pigeon Company.

It’s a significant addition to the fledgling prodco—set up last year by kids author Mo Willems, LA’s Stampede Ventures and New York’s RedBird Capital Partners—as it ramps up its development slate with a focus on adapting Willems’ books for the screen and beyond.

Soulie left his previous role as SVP and GM of Mattel Television last year after a five-year run at the toy giant, where he oversaw multi-format projects adapting iconic IPs like Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge and Barbie: It Takes Two.

Soulie spoke to Kidscreen about his latest endeavor, how he handled the revival of a popular ’80s IP and why he’s aiming beyond co-viewing.

KS: This past year has marked a new chapter in your career. Why was it time for a change?

FS: I left Mattel last summer after five years because I wanted to do different things, such as working more on the strategy side. 

Last fall, I joined RedBird Capital Partners to advise on the Hidden Pigeon Company. This month, I joined the board of directors to help the team take Mo Willems’ publishing properties into the mainstream. We were also lucky to have Karen K. Miller—whom I’ve known for many years and always admired as a great leader—join us last month as CEO.

The beauty of Mo’s work is that you’ve got everyone from kids to parents who are familiar with it, so there’s a wide audience to tap into here and build that bridge from publishing to audio-visual and more. Starting with books is also a great blueprint because it means we have great stories already. 

KS: What do you hope to bring to Hidden Pigeon? Do you have a process when scanning for titles with the strongest franchise potential? 

FS: The idea is to create long-term franchises from multiyear TV shows starting with animation. Both Karen and I are lucky to have built great relationships with broadcasters and platforms over the years, so we’re going to be [leaning into our network] and working closely with them. 

And to choose IPs, it’s always art meeting science. The success of the books is a good starting point; it’s always easier to start with something that everybody’s aware of. But you must also consider which characters make for great [longform] storytelling. Bluey or Peppa Pig are good examples of what we’re trying to achieve as we start with focusing on the preschool audience area. 

Mo Willems’ popular Pigeon book series—one of Soulie’s favorite IPs—has sold more than six million copies to date.

KS: How has your experience at Mattel Television prepared you for franchise development?

FS: I’m from the content side of things, but I also worked closely with the franchise team so that we’re not only understanding the story but also how to [set up] all the different touch points with the audience. The TV show is a starting point but then, [you want] kids to go on their own and play with a toy or re-enact the storylines and create new ones. 

You can’t go far with brands if you don’t connect with the audience regularly, and content alone is not enough anymore. You need to reach fans in many more ways, whether it’s products or live events. While this may seem commercial and just a way to make money, I’ve always looked at it as keeping in touch with the audience. Not just having them passively watch the screen, but actually having them “play” and engage with the characters—that’s really what we want to apply here at Hidden Pigeon.

KS: How have you strategized around more macro factors in the industry at this time?

FS: The entertainment industry as a whole is going through a rough patch, coming out of COVID, then the strikes and budgets obviously being a little bit smaller. But it’s a cycle, and I have seen these cycles before. It will come back. The good thing about our industry is buyers always look two or three years ahead. So everybody is planning for 2025, 2026, 2027 and beyond.

KS: Having worked with such a variety of properties, is there one that stands out to you when you look back?

FS: Every show I’ve worked on, I’ve enjoyed for different reasons. They’re all like your kids! But if I had to pick one, it’s Masters of the Universe. I was an ’80s kid and I grew up watching it and had all the toys. When I joined Mattel, I was so excited to be a part of the relaunch of that IP because I felt so connected to it. We also got to reach a new generation of kids and that’s always been a thrill when you work with well-known characters. 

And in the case of Mo’s work, it’s the same logic. We plan to entertain a new audience but also try to get some of the folks that were an audience before to re-engage with the IP.

KS: It must be a tricky balancing act between catering to the longtimers and also appealing to a new generation. 

FS: It’s always a challenge when there’s a very vocal fanbase that you have to deal with at times. But I always enjoy that because at least it means people care and feel passionate enough to voice their opinion, whether it’s good or bad.

But that’s also one of the reasons we developed two different shows with Masters of the Universe—both staying true to the same fundamentals. One was aimed at younger kids (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) and the other one (Masters of the Universe: Revelation) was a little bit darker and aligned closely with the ’80s animated series, which is my personal favorite.

Soulie spearheaded several iconic properties at Mattel Television, including the Netflix series Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

KS: It’s interesting since you noted earlier that Mo Willems’ work already has that built-in appeal for both kids and grown ups. 

FS: Yes, if you look at the most successful preschool shows these days, there’s a lot of co-viewing happening. It really helps when brands [win that sense of] trust to get a bigger audience. 

But I would even say we must capture the audience in between. With co-view, people think about the young kids with the caregivers and parents. But I also feel there’s an audience in between those two: the slightly older kids who might be interested in seeing how a book from their childhood is adapted as a show. I wish there was a word for this—maybe something like co-triple-viewing or family viewing.

KS: What are you most excited to adapt from page to screen at Hidden Pigeon? And do you have any personal favorites from Mo’s catalogue?

FS: Among the many themes that are in all of Mo’s books, friendship is one that comes back quite a bit. So that’s something we’re going to focus on heavily.

I really like Elephant and Piggie and also Pigeon. Pigeon is featured in a TikTok video (uploaded by Mo Willems Workshop) that I really loved. It’s actually a great example of tapping into a wide audience because you could connect with older kids on social media today with a character they recognize, while we build out a different story for the younger kids.

TikTok is definitely something that will be part of our franchise strategy. We’ll also focus on the platforms where we know that kids spend quite a bit of time, like YouTube and Roblox.