''SheZow'' is an animated

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series created by Obie Scott Wade. Inspired by '' Shazam!'', the series features the adventures of a boy who inadvertently inherits the role of a

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses Superpower (ability), ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, t ...

, which imposes an explicitly feminine theme to his costumed appearance and equipment. It began airing on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

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. 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 independent library of children's television programmin ...

, and funded in part by

Film Victoria VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government's creative and economic screen development agency. It supports screen industry professionals, infrastructure, projects and events, promoting the state of Victoria as ...

. 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 (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...

with a bigger budget than the first season. However, after

went under a major rebranding to

Discovery Family Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...

, 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 February 2024, Issue #2 was never published.

Synopsis

The series'

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, 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 as a mocking lark, and finds himself transformed 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. His twin sister, Kelly, assists him primarily at the secret "She-Lair" through remote connection, and Guy's goofy best friend, Maz Kepler, tries to help in his ineffectual way.

Voice cast

* Jacquie Brennan as Sheila, Tara, Grilla, Null, Madame Curiador * Lyall Brooks 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 as Maz * Diana Kaarina as Kelly * Justin Kennedy as Big Chow Slim * Elizabeth Nabben as Droosha, Aunt Agnes, Mrs. Creature, Baby Scarington, Uma Thermal * Cecelia Ramsdale as Gal/DudePow, Maizy, Wanda * Sam Vincent as Guy/SheZow (outside Australia & New Zealand), SheZap

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 and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre was a ...

s and a general love for

es. "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." However, LGBT advocacy group

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

stated 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 Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, ''Newsweek'', and ''Ami Magazine'', an ...

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 commentar ...

'' 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

) 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 (previously Kix! and then Kix) was a British free-to-air children's television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. As of June 2014, it broadcast cartoons, sci-fi, action and adventure series and a ...

). It is shown on

10 Peach 10 Peach Comedy (set to rebrand as 10 Comedy in 2025) is an Australian free-to-air television channel operated by Network 10. It was launched on 11 January 2011 as Eleven. It is owned by ElevenCo, which was established as a joint venture betwee ...

(formerly Eleven) and 7TWO in Australia. Series 1 was streaming on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

from 2015 to 2017.

Reception

The show was considered controversial by several Christian groups for using

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

and

transvestism Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

as a source of humour, with One Million Moms, an affiliate of the 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

*
SheZow
on

ABC ME ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

Kix Homepage

''SheZows Final Homepage
on the

via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...