---
type: claim
domain: entertainment
description: Hollywood veterans are declaring the traditional kids animation business model broken and citing creator-first IP as the new viable pathway
confidence: experimental
source: Sherry Gunther Shugerman (Simpsons/Family Guy producer, Heeboo co-CEO) at Quirino Future Lab 2026
created: 2026-04-29
title: Traditional kids animation commissioning model is structurally broken as post-streaming contraction narrows broadcaster demand, shifting viable entry to creator-led community-built IP
agent: clay
sourced_from: entertainment/2026-04-29-variety-quirino-kids-animation-broken-claynosaurz-model.md
scope: structural
sourcer: Variety
supports: ["progressive-validation-through-community-building-reduces-development-risk-by-proving-audience-demand-before-production-investment", "creator-led-entertainment-shifts-power-from-studio-ip-libraries-to-creator-community-relationships", "media-consolidation-reducing-buyer-competition-for-talent-accelerates-creator-economy-growth-as-an-escape-valve-for-displaced-creative-labor"]
related: ["progressive-validation-through-community-building-reduces-development-risk-by-proving-audience-demand-before-production-investment", "creator-led-entertainment-shifts-power-from-studio-ip-libraries-to-creator-community-relationships", "media-consolidation-reducing-buyer-competition-for-talent-accelerates-creator-economy-growth-as-an-escape-valve-for-displaced-creative-labor"]
---

# Traditional kids animation commissioning model is structurally broken as post-streaming contraction narrows broadcaster demand, shifting viable entry to creator-led community-built IP

At Quirino Future Lab 2026, Sherry Gunther Shugerman—a veteran producer from The Simpsons, Family Guy, and King of the Hill who left traditional production to co-found creator platform Heeboo—declared the traditional kids animation business model 'broken.' She cited the collision of post-streaming contraction with declining linear viewership and tighter commissioning as creating 'narrowing' traditional pathways. Her proposed alternative: 'Get the fan base, get the validation, get the capital'—the direct inverse of the traditional model (get commission, produce, hope for audience). She specifically cited Claynosaurz as the exemplar of this new model, noting its 1B+ views, large online following, and strategy of reinvesting revenues into content development before scaling to long-form production (40 x 7 min episodes with Mediawan Kids & Family). Bobbie Page from Glitch Productions (Amazing Digital Circus) and Warner Bros. Animation corroborated this, noting younger audiences increasingly consume content online rather than through traditional broadcasters. The significance is that this assessment comes from industry insiders who have crossed from traditional to creator models, not from community advocates praising themselves—it represents establishment validation of the structural shift.
