Apple TV+ new series BE@RBRICK debuts on the streamer March 21. Inspired by the collectible figures from MEDICOM TOY, BE@RBRICK is a family-friendly musical adventure about pursuing your goals. We had the chance to sit down with showrunner, writer, and executive producer Meghan McCarthy, to learn more about it.
Meghan McCarthy Interview
Before we talk about the music, I would love to dig in a little bit more about the theme of the show: painting your own destiny and individuality. You’re no stranger to taking toys and making impactful stories out of their universes. What inspired this particular journey?
Meghan: Anytime I’m looking at something where it exists in another form, I try to think about what are the elements of that that you can’t lose? For BE@RBRICK, they’re all cute little bear shapes but when they’re painted on they take on a value and a collectability and interest. […] They are inherently about self-expression.
What was it like collaborating with somebody like Timbaland who has such extensive knowledge of the music industry?
Meghan: Yeah, I mean it was absolutely incredible when DreamWorks came to me and said hey, here’s who we’re thinking of for this show. [It] took me a minute to stop freaking out. It was incredible because we knew that the band…you had to root for [them]. You want to see them achieve their dreams. So the songs that they played had to feel like something you would hear out in the world now. Obviously Timberland is someone who has had his finger on the pulse for a long time. When I would send him lyrics for the songs, the demos that we would get back from his team were just so above and beyond anything that I had ever anticipated them to be.
TIMBALAND Interview: Creating BE@RBRICK’S Music and More
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Watch the full Meghan McCarthy Interview
About BE@RBRICK
BEARBRICK (stylized BE@RBRICK) follows Jasmine and her bandmates as they pursue their dreams and inspire others to do the same. But it won’t be easy to do when living in a world where everyone’s role is chosen for them. Here the painted-on look you receive when you graduate from high school determines who you’ll be for the rest of your life. Jasmine realizes that in order for her world to change, she and her friends may have to make it happen themselves.
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