Star and co-creators of Yo Gabba GabbaLand talk nostalgia, music, and shooting the latest iteration in Utah

Apple TV+ is bringing back some familiar faces! The children's musical series Yo Gabba GabbaLand! hits the streaming platform on Aug. 9!

Yo Gabba GabbaLand! is Apple TV+‘s reboot of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated seriesYo Gabba Gabba! is bringing back the fan-favorite toys: Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Toodee, and Plex for a 10-episode premiere season, hosted by actress and dancer Kamryn Smith aka Kammy Kam!

The series is the second iteration of Yo Gabba Gabba, the kids' musical series that premiered on Nickelodeon in 2007 and ended in 2015. DJ Lance Rock, a musician, hosted the series alongside the group of toys. Both series were created by musicians Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz of The Aquabats. Apple TV+ has also acquired the previous episodes and specials, such as Yo Gabba Gabba Live! There's a Party In My City.

We spoke with both Smith and the series co-creators Christian Jones and Scott Schultz, who detailed what it was like to reinvigorate the magic of the first series and bringing these familiar faces to a new audience of parents and young viewers. Read on to find out more about what's insideYo Gabba GabbaLand!

Yo Gabba Gabba, I grew up watching it so for you to be a part of this is really cool to see. What was it like to get the news that you're going to be playing Kammy Kam?

KS: Oh, my goodness. It was crazy because that day, my mom, she was really happy. And I know she's always happy, but she was extra happy that day. So, it was crazy. And then she just called me in and she was like, We're going to Utah for three months because you booked Yo Gabba Gabba. And I was like, You're kidding because that's crazy. And I watched it when I was younger, and me and my brother actually did. My brother was super excited, too.

You're donning the orange sweater that DJ Lance had. Were you able to talk with him or did you get any inspiration from from DJ Lance, specifically?

KS: When they were thinking about the costume, they wanted to do something like Lance, but they wanted to make it more of my own. So I talked with the creators of the outfit of my outfit, of my outfit, so the designer, and we made up what I liked. And we talked about jumpsuits, and we talked about outfit, sweaters type of things, but it make it orange, yellow, the color scheme and making it what I like and what I'm comfortable in. So it was more of talk with everybody.

We get to see the characters come back. I loved Foofa. I wanted to know, who was your favorite?

KS: If you can tell, my favorite's Foofa, by my earrings and wearing pink and clips. Foofa has to be my favorite. She's very girly like me and very feminine and so pretty princess and also loves ballet, dancing like me. Definitely my next favorite is Brobee because he's so cute. He's so little and he's just always so funny.

When you were shooting the episodes, you had to move. You had to go to Utah for a while. What was it like to be on set with everybody?

KS: It was so much fun because as of just the three months we were there, we all just joined as a family. It was less of, 'I'm going to work today.' It was more of, I'm going to see my family today' and just working. I was super excited every single day because of how much fun [it is]. I'm like, 'I don't want to leave.' Even when I had to leave, I was like, 'Can I just stay for another hour?' They're like, 'No, you have to go. You have to go.'

You said that your mom was really excited. Talking with your mom and just your family in general about the show, what lessons have you learned from being on set but also watching the series?

KS: Some lessons that I've learned from watching the series is just being with your family. Family is one of the biggest things in life because they are your biggest supporters and being with family. Don't take that for granted because you never know when something can happen.

That's a great lesson!

As a childhood fan of Yo Gabba Gabba, I'm honored to speak with you both. What sets Yo Gabba Gabba Land apart from its predecessor? How did you approach this iteration for a new audience?

Scott Schultz: Absolutely. Going into this, the key fundamentals were that we wanted to retain the essence of the old show—the same characters and the same love—but we aimed to expand it. We wanted to take the imagination of this land, which was once just on a table, and turn it into something infinite, something that could be much more than you could even see into the distance. It was no easy task, but really, the land was one of the main things from the very start. We asked ourselves, 'How can we achieve that?' Technically, it was nearly impossible until now to expand it to that level.

Christian Scott: Reimagining the show, so to speak, has been really exciting. Hello, friend Gabba from the old days! It's been incredible to redo this show with people who grew up watching it. Even in the making of the show, we had people on the crew who had grown up watching it, including Kammy, our host. For Scott and me, we didn’t want to create a different show per se because if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Instead, we aimed to make it bigger and better—expanding it into something vast and infinite. The idea behind Yo Gabba GabbaLand! was to turn it into a reflection or a mirror of our world. Just as if you go outside in nature and look into the distance, you see Gabba Mountain way back there and a waterfall in the background. We wanted to expand the horizons for the audience, to show that there are infinite possibilities for children to explore and learn. That’s what we aimed to capture with this show: the expansion of learning and exploration. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does, and I’m very happy to hear that. Speaking of Kamryn, I had the pleasure of speaking with her about her experience going to Utah and shooting. You touched upon it a little, but with this production and its expanded world, when you both were getting into developing it and going over logistics, were there any major challenges you had to overcome?

SS: The challenges were mostly technical because we were dreaming big. We envisioned a giant Yo Gabba Land that no one had seen before, expanding the imagination for kids beyond just a little playset to an entire room with different lands. The technical challenges were significant, but similar to the last show, we aimed to bring this dream to life. Technologically, we reached a point where it was possible to make this happen. It was a fun process, though, and we owe a lot to Apple TV+ for helping us realize this vision at this level. For us, it was about bringing the same Gabba magic to this new series with a new host and new lands. There were a lot of challenges, which was exciting for us.

CJ: In general, from the end of the old Yo Gabba Gabba to now, we first started talking with Apple TV+ towards the end of 2019. Then, of course, 2020 happened. Despite the challenges, the magic of Yo Gabba Gabba has a way of working itself out. Meeting Kammy, the new host, happened randomly during a commercial. We had already been thinking through ideas for the new show, and came into the mix. It took a couple of years to get everything in order, including the technological aspects of building a digital world that could seamlessly fit into a practical world. The process took a long time, but here we are at the finish line, so it’s really exciting.

SS: Yes, it taken a long time.

But it’s finally here. One aspect of the original show that made me a fan was the music. I know you both come from music backgrounds. Can you tell me more about how you incorporated music into the episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba Land?

SS: For us, music is crucial. The show has always been fundamentally a music show. We approached it similarly to the old show, which was all about co-creation and collaboration. We worked with bands to bring their unique sound and energy, translating that into lyrics that preschoolers can relate to and understand. Instead of pre-packaging the music, we focused on collaboration with animators, DJs, celebrities, and everyone involved. Music is the most exciting part for us. We could have just used one songwriter, but we involved multiple songwriters and allowed bands to pick and interpret the songs.

CJ: We have a unique process. Both Scott and I write songs, though not as much as we’d like. We have a core group of songwriters and also accept submissions from others. Songwriting begins as soon as we approve episode themes. Songs often come in before we even have a complete episode treatment or idea. Sometimes, we build episodes around the music, while other times, we write songs based on episode ideas. We get to curate the music, which is fun. Each songwriter has different specialties, and we enjoy surprising each other with new music. It’s like having our own special forces of music.

The original show featured some great guest stars! With this new show, there are also many celebrity guest stars. I remember [seeing] Bill Hader when I was in middle school, and then I got into Saturday Night Live and stuff. Are there any that are your favorites that you've worked with?

SS: There have been so many, Tiara. Collaborating with everyone is always a surprise. Having celebrities participate in story times was quite unique this time around. I remember recording a story time with Flea—it was wild fun. We created stories with the kids and the celebrity, often meeting them for the first time. Flea stands out in my mind because it was so much fun creating a story together.

CJ: Scott and I were obviously huge music fans, so we cast a wide net out to a lot of people that we obviously love and respect and want to work with. That net's pretty big. To get the response back from people that are so excited to just be a part of it, usually the energy right away is just incredible because people respond so well to come be on the show. It's like becoming instant friends with some of your heroes and people that you really look up to. You talk about Bill Hader from the old show. He wanted to come on and be on the show for his kids, and we're making the show for our kids. The energy already is really cool. It's like, 'Hey, what's up, Bill?' Put your arm around them, give them a hug, and you're instant friends. For us, even in this new iteration of the show, it's the same thing. People that we had on the show this time around, everyone is just excited to be there for their kids. We are, too, but we're also excited that they're there, too, It's like, 'Wow, I can't believe Kurt Vile is here.'

CJ: Flea was amazing—an absolute legend. Scott and I used to go see Red Hot Chili Peppers when we were in junior school. Now he's hanging out with us, doing something for the kids. His heart is so into it and he expressed so much of that joy on set with us. It was almost emotional. We're instant brothers. It's a pretty cool position for us to be in.

SS: Sometimes bands are our celebrities a lot of times. I know when The Drums came on, I was just like, Star Trek and Reggie Watts was so much fun. That beat of the day was wild. Leslie Hall coming back was magic.

CJ: So many friends have become automatic friends of the show because they’re here for the kids, which makes the experience a lot of fun.

In addition to this interview, The Parent Watch has an exclusive clip to share with you, which you can see below! Watch, sing, and dance along during the Plex Party with Grammy Award-winning artist Portugal & The Man and Grammy Award-winning compoer and musician Paul Williams!

Yo Gabba GabbaLand! premieres Aug. 9 on Apple TV+