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''SheZow'' is an animated superhero series and
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
. It features the adventures of a boy who inadvertently inherits the role of a superheroine, which imposes an explicit feminine theme to his costumed appearance and equipment. It began airing on Network Ten in Australia on 15 December 2012. The series is aimed at children from 6 to 11 years old. Produced by Moody Street Kids and Kickstart Productions, it is distributed by
DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
, and funded in part by Film Victoria. It was designed by Australian artist Kyla May. , 52 eleven-minute episodes have been made, which are broadcast in pairs to make one season of 26 half-hour episodes. In a 2013 interview, Wade expressed interest in making a second season. In a 2016 interview, Wade mentioned that he went on to start season 2 production of SheZow at
Hub Network Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment. The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids, a spin-off of Discove ...
with a bigger budget than the first season. However, after
Hub Network Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment. The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids, a spin-off of Discove ...
went under a major rebranding to Discovery Family, Wade was informed that SheZow season 2 production came to a halt. However, Wade had mentioned that there would be a comic series of SheZow released under his own company, Obieco Entertainment. He released the debut Issue of the SheZow comic series sometime in 2015. Wade had also mentioned that the second issue would release the next year after Issue #1 on Christmas. As of September 2022, Issue #2 was never published.


Synopsis

The series' protagonist, a 12-year-old boy named Guy Hamdon, discovers the superheroine SheZow's ring of power inherited from his late Aunt Agnes; then subsequently puts it on and transforms into a female costumed crime-fighter by uttering the phrase "You Go Girl!" As it is now on his finger, and thus also cannot be removed as a result, Guy uses the power ring to become SheZow; but while it does grant him superpowers, it was only meant to be worn by a girl, so Guy must wear a female superhero costume and pretend that he is a girl while fighting crime.


Voice cast


Cast

*
Jacquie Brennan Jacqueline Brennan is an Australian stage, television and film actress with a career that has spanned over 30 years appearing in film, theatre and voice-over roles. Jacquie Brennan is known for her roles on '' Bullpitt!'', '' The Hollowmen,''an ...
as Sheila, Tara, Grilla, Null, Madame Curiador *
Lyall Brooks Lyall Brooks (born 16 November 1978) is an Australian actor who has appeared on TV, film and stage. Establishing a reputation early in his career as an Actor with great comic timing, Brooks has recently received industry praise for more dramatic ...
as Brian Smirk, Tattoosalla, Coldfinger, Mocktopus, Wackerman, Senior Yo-Yo, Count Pussenbite, Mister Cylinder, Mega Monkey, Caped Koala, Crash Thunder, Aristotle, Brouhaha, Dr. Frankenweather, Fibberachee, Maj. Attitude, Manny Ken, Void, Periwinkle, Spit Bubble, Moocher, Pirate Posse, Dudley, Kelli, Captain XL, Mayor Stanley, Link, Sarcazmo, Wishington, Tad, McSniff, Legal Cat * David-Myles Brown as Guy/SheZow (Australia & New Zealand only), Moocher, Pirate Posse * Dan Hamill as Officer Boxter, Candy Rapper, Le Pigeon, Moocher, Freddie Fartonavich *
Matt Hill Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. Career His roles include Ed in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene/Captain N in '' Captain N: The Game Master'', Kira Yamato in ''Gundam Seed'' and '' G ...
as Maz *
Diana Kaarina Diana Kaarina (born March 17, 1975) is a Canadian voice and stage actress based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Kaarina was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Richmond, British Columbia. She got her start with Theatre Under ...
as Kelly *
Justin Kennedy Justin Kennedy (born 17 May 1972) is an actor, writer, voice-over artist and comedian from Melbourne, Australia. He started his performing career in 2002, after making his first stand-up appearance in the national Raw Comedy competition. Care ...
as Big Chow Slim * Elizabeth Nabben as Droosha, Aunt Agnes, Mrs. Creature, Baby Scarington, Uma Thermal * Samuel Vincent as Guy/SheZow (North America only), SheZap * Cecelia Ramsdale as Gal/DudePow, Maizy, Wanda


Crew

*
Terry Klassen Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor, ADR director and writer. Before animation, Klassen worked in radio in Winnipeg (CITI-FM), Toronto (Q107), Calgary (CFAC), Portage la Prairie (CFRY) and part-time at CFOX and CFMI. In animation, he is best ...
 – voice supervisor * Dale Warren – voice director / sound designer / sound mixer


Development and production

The concept was originally created by Obie Scott Wade as a short film for Disney Channel's '' Shorty McShorts' Shorts'' in 2007, which in turn was based on a more adult-oriented short of his named SheeZaam. In a 2013 interview, Wade stated that the inspiration for ''SheZow'' was based on his experiences of watching
Saturday-morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...
s and a general love for superheroes. "When I was a kid I watched a show on Saturday mornings called '' Shazam!'' ... it was Shazam and Isis and I just thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if he accidentally said 'SHE-zam,' would he get a different costume or become a different hero?" He added that a lot of the facets to SheZow's mythology came about from the women writers on his team. "I asked the women on my team ... what would be a good weakness for a woman superhero and they all said, 'Bad hair!' ... A lot of the gadgets and jokes or 'SheZow'came from women."


Controversy

''SheZow'' has a gender-bending character named Guy Hamdon, who transforms into the titular character. However, the show gained attention from anti-LGBT activists who claimed that Guy would "confuse children about gender," with GLAAD saying that the show is appropriate and that the concept of a superhero having a new persona to be a crime fighter is "very familiar to children." The creator of the show, Obie Scott Wade, denied claims by those such as
Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...
on ''
Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an Radical right (United States), American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentary ...
'' on the show, stating that there was no "political agenda," and that the critics were reading "a lot into it," saying that the show focuses more on the responsibility of the protagonist and "less about gender." He also said that gender issues were not explored much in the show, and stated in another interview that "SheZow is not transgendered" but is a boy whose gender "never changes" as he is trapped "in a silly costume."


Episodes


Broadcast

In the United States, it was added to the schedule lineup of the Hub Network (now '' Discovery Family'') on 1 June 2013 and aired on Discovery Family until 27 December 2015. In the United Kingdom, the series was on Kix in 2016 (later became
Pop Max Pop Max (formerly Kix! and then Kix) is a British free-to-air children's television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. As of June 2014, it broadcasts cartoons, sci-fi, action and adventure series and ani ...
). It is shown on 10 Peach (formerly Eleven) and 7TWO in Australia. Series 1 was streaming on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
from 2015 to 2017.


Reception

The show was considered controversial by several Christian groups for using cross-dressing and
transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...
as a source of humour, with
One Million Moms The American Family Association (AFA) is a Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.American Family Association being one of the groups targeting it. In response, series creator Obie Scott Wade stated, "SheZow is not transgendered. He's a boy, his gender never changes, he's just trapped in a silly costume." He also added that he does not find it child-inappropriate at all, because the idea came to him in his youth.


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 2070443, SheZow
SheZow
on
ABC ME ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

Kix Homepage

''SheZows Final Homepage
on the
Hub Network Discovery Family is an American cable television channel co-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Hasbro Entertainment. The channel was originally launched by Discovery Communications on October 7, 1996 as Discovery Kids, a spin-off of Discove ...
via
Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
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