The Long Haul - by Ciaran Murtagh

Sometimes I'm asked about the timelines of making an animated TV series. It takes a lot longer than you might think. This week a new show I head wrote with my writing partner Andrew starts airing in France - Viking Skool. 

I decided to take a look back and see when we first started working on the show. It turns out we delivered our first script in 2016. It's taken over 6 years to get to this point. To put that into context, I have a 5 year old daughter who was conceived, born and is now attending school in the time it took for this show to go from script to screen. 

To add insult to injury, neither Andrew and I have even seen the show! At least I know what my daughter looks like. We're not going to be able to see it any time soon either - it's currently only on in France. Fingers crossed it might make it onto Disney at some point and we can time travel back to 2016 to see what we were writing at the time. 

Everyone tells you that making TV shows takes a long time - they're right. While we haven't been working on this show for the entirety of those six years, we spent a good four years developing and scripting it. The other two years involve all the animation and everything else that goes into making a show. 

Think back to what you were doing in 2016, think of all the ways the world has changed, it feels a long time ago doesn't it? That's why you have to be very careful when you choose projects to work on. Not all of them take this long to get to the screen, but you have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Imagine spending six years on something you didn't like. 

Andrew and I think long and hard before we say yes. There's always a risk you'll be living with characters far longer than you expected and that you'll never actually see the fruits of your labour. 

If you're in France please check it out. Then email me and tell me it's all been worth it (even if it hasn't) - please!