TV

Austin producer teams up with Amy Poehler for kids' Web show

By Pamela LeBlanc
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, September 14, 2009

Pay attention, girls: Brainy is better.

That's the message from Austin freelance producer Meredith Walker, who will soon unveil the second season of her online video show, "Smart Girls at the Party," a collaboration with her best friend, comedian Amy Poehler.

Each 3- to 5-minute segment of "Smart Girls" features Poehler conducting introspective yet hilarious interviews with the likes of a preteen yogini, a writer, a gardener and the California garage band Care Bears on Fire. Amy Miles, a New York musician and host of a PBS music appreciation show for children, hams it up alongside Poehler and Walker, who keeps popping on screen saying "Cut to me!"

The first season of the series of webisodes can be seen at www.hulu.com, www.onnetworks.com, smartgirlsattheparty.com and www.youtube.com

"The motivation is to show girls at their purest, coolest and best," says Poehler, star of the NBC TV sitcom "Parks and Recreation" and creator of Nickelodeon animated show "The Mighty B!" "To hear what they are interested in, and to ask them about their interests. And to change the world. In that order."

Walker and Poehler met in 2001, while they were both at Saturday Night Live — Poehler as a comedian, Walker as head of the talent department, where she booked show hosts and bands. They hatched the idea for a show after staying up late and reminiscing about the anguish they endured trying to fit in as preteens.

"We just wished we had a time machine and could go back to ourselves and say, 'Don't even sweat it,' " says Walker, a former senior producer for Nick News. "We thought, 'Let's find a way to just kind of have conversations with girls, where they're being themselves so they know what it feels like.' "

The show started with nine episodes, taped in New York and released last November.

"It feels like we have recess together," Walker says.

The show takes the girls seriously, but includes a dose of goofy fun. Walker says she hopes it reminds girls that it's cool to be smart and smart girls can still party.

"Meredith is a true champion for girls," Poehler says. "This project exists because of her dedication and compassion. She never forgets what it was like to be a girl, and that perspective gives the show a sense of authenticity. Plus, she looks great wearing a headset."

Season 2 was shot in Los Angeles earlier this year, with the help of the Austin-based camera team Texas Crew. Among the guests are a young horseback rider, a girl who builds robots and a cook. It will be released during the next few months, Walker says. A third season is in the works.

"One of things we say is 'Be yourself; come tell us about it,' " Walker says. "What we want to show them is you don't have to be famous to matter. The other thing is we want to show that just caring about something is what matters. We take them seriously — we really want to hear what they're saying."

Every show ends with the cast and crew cutting loose in an arm-flapping, leg-wagging dance party. New in Season 2? A 20-second song written by Miles in honor of each featured girl.

"Great girls. Original songs. Double the dance party!" Poehler says.