"Life is so fast-paced": Suzy Cato on returning to the slow oasis of 'You and Me'
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Suzy Cato is a cornerstone of Kiwi children’s entertainment.
Her TV shows and podcasts are beloved by children and adults alike – ‘You and Me’ in particular holding a special place in the hearts of the audience who grew up with it.
It delivered over 2000 episodes since it began in 1993, and is credited as one of the first children’s programmes to weave te reo Māori into everyday conversation.
And now, 33 years later, Cato has released a brand-new season of the beloved show on YouTube, saying it’s needed in an increasingly fast-paced world.
“We’ve had so many parents say, oh I wish there was something like ‘You and Me’, that was slow and gentle and conversational, and would provide kids an oasis the way they had as children,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame.
They’ve released nine new episodes over the last month or so, and Cato says they’ve already been getting amazing feedback from parents.
“So many of our kids are, you know, so used to, to a faster pace,” she said.
“We are getting feedback that the programme is still engaging kids, so that they will be zooming around the room and then they'll come to sit down and actually enjoy some interaction with Auntie Suzy.”
33 years is a bit of a gap, but it was easy enough for Cato to get back into the swing of things when making this new season.
“We were very, very lucky – Rex Simpson was an amazing creator,” she told Tame
Simpson was the executive producer and director behind programmes like ‘What Now’, ‘Play School’, and of course, ‘You and Me’.
“[He] created such good templates,” Cato explained.
“So it was easy to use that template, and we didn’t have to change a thing basically."
Suzy received a little birthday surprise when she came in for the chat.
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