Todd Kessler is an American film and television writer, producer and director. Among his credits are showrunner and co-creator of
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
's preschool series ''
Blue's Clues
''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...
'' and director and producer of the feature film ''
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
''.
Career
According to author
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...
, who wrote about ''Blue's Clues'' in his book ''
The Tipping Point
''The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference'' is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little, Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling po ...
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
", but found traditional children's television too static and not visual enough. In 1993–94, Kessler, who was then a freelance producer for Nickelodeon, was assigned to work with Peter Schreck on his seminal interactive television experiments in the network's Orlando studio, developing concepts which were later incorporated into Blue's Clues. Kessler was the first creator involved with the show. Angela Santomero and Traci Paige Johnson were brought later on to complete the Blue's Clues team. ''Blue's Clues'', according to ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', was "at the forefront of a revolution in kids TV" and was crucial to the growth of Nickelodeon. The innovative and interactive format it created changed children's programming, including its most important influence ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
'', which changed its format in 2002 to be more interactive.
Kessler left Nickelodeon and ''Blue's Clues'' in June 2000 after three seasons, but would continue to be credited as an executive producer for the rest of the show's run, as well as for all the show's spin-offs.
In 2008, Kessler acquired the teen romantic drama ''
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
'', a film adapted from a short story written by
Ron Carlson
Ron Carlson (born 1947) is an American novelist, short story writer and professor.
Life
Carlson was born in Logan, Utah, and grew up in Salt Lake City. He received a master's degree in English from the University of Utah. He then taught at The ...
. The film, which starred
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo m ...
and
Elisabeth Harnois
Elisabeth Harnois ( ; born ) is an American actress. Her career started at the age of five, where she began appearing in a number of film and television roles. As a child, she starred as Alice in Disney's '' Adventures in Wonderland'' and as an ...
, was Kessler's directorial debut. Kessler also produced and co-wrote (with
David Zabel
David Breitel Zabel is an American television producer and writer. He has worked extensively on '' ER'', becoming an executive producer and the series' showrunner. He has won a Humanitas Prize for his writing for ''ER''. He was also the showrunn ...
) the film, which "concerns a 17-year-old who thinks she's got it all figured out until she falls for a guy who has nothing to lose".
Kessler is an outspoken critic of the popular belief that young children have short attention spans. In a column he penned for ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' in its Oct. 26, 2015 edition, he referred to his own experience launching ''Blue's Clues'' and the television industry resistance to the series due to the prevailing belief that its unique long-form narrative structure would not succeed with children. He also argued that children would also be engaged with picture books that featured more prose than current publishing industry standards. He wrote similar sentiments in an op-ed he wrote for ''Forward Reviews'', a literary review magazine.
Kessler authored the children's picture book ''The Good Dog'' in 2015 and ''The Good Dog and the Bad Cat'' in 2016. The books feature long-form narrative storytelling with complex characters and villains, following the adventures of Tako, a dog, and his owner, Ricky Lee; the second volume introduces Allie, a stray cat. Both books are published by Coralstone Press and illustrated by Jennifer Gray Olson. Howard Lavoy, executive editor at ''Forward Reviews'', wrote ''The Good Dog'' series is "long form and engaging for kids and their grownups."
In addition, Kessler directed the romantic/musical film ''Bazodee'', released on August 5, 2016 and starring Machel Montano, Natalie Perera, Staz Nair and
Kabir Bedi
Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: f ...
. The story revolves around the complications created when Anita Panchouri (Perera) tries to sacrifice her own needs for the needs of her family. The movie, filmed on location in Trinidad and Tobago, features soca music and is praised for its authentic cast of Indians and Trinidadians and cultural accuracy, with ''
Film Journal International
''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', ''Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals.
H ...
s David Noh comparing it to ''
Black Orpheus
''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...
''. '' Billboard'' has also compared the movie to ''
The Harder They Come
''The Harder They Come'' is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell and co-written by Trevor D. Rhone, and starring Jimmy Cliff. The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world". ...
'' and
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
's '' Purple Rain'' because of Montano's musical performances, bringing soca to a wider audience.
Awards and nominations
As producer for ''Blue's Clues'', Kessler received a Peabody Award, two
Television Critics Association Awards
The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour.
Due to ...
in 1997–1998 and 1998–1999, several
Parents' Choice Awards
The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...
, and a New York Film Festival
CINE
Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer ...
Golden Eagle in 1996. He has also been nominated for six
Emmys
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
"
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
" won first place in the teenage sections of five international film festivals: Italy's Giffoni Film Festival (in the 15–19-year-old division); the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
for Children and Youth (their Students Choice Award, decided on by high school students); Sweden's
BUFF International Film Festival
BUFF International Film Festival (Swedish: BUFF Filmfestival) is an international children and youth film festival in Malmö, Sweden, held annually in March.SCHLINGEL International Film Festival; and Quebec's
Carrousel international du film de Rimouski
Carrousel international du film de Rimouski is a children's film festival taking place each year in Rimouski, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadia ...