Not long ago, TV writer/producer Tom Lynch came by Family Theater Productions' Hollywood offices to talk to an audience of largely Catholic creatives from the Los Angeles area. At dinner beforehand, Lynch was joking that, although there aren't any priests in his shows, everything he does is faith-based.
Truth in Art
I conducted the interview, and started by asking Lynch about his faith-based comment.
He laughed, saying, "We're going to start there, are we, Kate?"
Lynch, a Catholic, went on to explain, "In art, there's truth. You can only have truth. You have to have faith the truth exists. Everything I make is based in some human element that I find within me, that I have to tell that story about. And that story is based in something beyond me.
"The life that started when I was born, and a child and all this, could not have been involved in this many things without some other kind of intervention.
"I totally believe in a power greater than myself. If you tap into that, then your life takes an unimaginable journey -- and I only believe that, because it's an empirical truth in my life."
An Independent Producer Who Thinks TV Is Art
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lynch is an independent producer, through his Tom Lynch Company.
"I've never been offered a job," he joked.
While Lynch has done different things over many decades, he's best known for creating hit TV shows aimed at the 8-14-year-old age group, primarily from the 1990s until the present.
Among them are The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Journey of Allen Strange and Caitlin's Way for Nickelodeon; Scout's Safari for Discovery Kids; the sci-fi show Galidor for YTV; and, starting in 2023, I Woke Up a Vampire, for Netflix.
.Although Lynch has worked almost exclusively in commercial TV, he refutes the notion that TV just exists to make money.
"I absolutely believe that television is an art form," he said. "I refuse to even enter the debate with somebody that says, 'No, it's just commercial. No, it's just for the money.'
"There's a saying we hear all the time, from a studio or from the finance people, 'It's showbiz, buddy. It's all about the biz.' Yeah. You ain't got no biz without the show.
"So, just pay attention to that it is an artistic thing, more so now than ever, because the only delineation between getting your show made or not, is if somebody thinks it's worthy to put on.
"The entry is so hard these days. I can't speak to why other people do their work or what they do with it. I know, for me, I always thought it was a privilege that I wrote something, somebody said it, and millions of people heard it."
Telling Human Stories
To tell meaningful stories, a writer needs an underlying philosophy, a creative North Star. Lynch is no exception.
He said, "There was something in my hubris as a young man -- when I used to have hubris -- I truly believed that everything I made would exist in some form forever. It's my bit of immortality. So, you better do it good.
"The reason we were able to stay as a company, we were able to stay current, is that we love our audience."
At Lynch's website, there's a company mission statement: "Illuminating the Magic of the Human Experience."
Said Lynch, "We've always led the company by the simple definition, that humanity, by its definition, has value. Now, if you stay with that thought, you're not going to go too wrong.
"You're going to tell great stories, because everybody has a story, and it's about tapping into the story of the human, as opposed to the story of the moment."
The Forever Changing 'Tween Audience -- And the Heroic Outsider
One challenge Lynch has faced is that his target audience turns over every few years, as 'tweens become teens and beyond. Some of the 'tweens who first watched The Secret World of Alex Mack in 1994 are probably facing being the parents of 'tweens themselves.
As to how he continues to create themes that appeal to several generations of young people, Lynch explained that there are constants.
"They're not beaten down by life," he said. "They're hopeful; they're imaginative; they have dreams; they want to do good. They want to be part of something great.
"Conversely, every kid feels like an outsider. No matter ... you can be the most popular kid in school. You can be the queen of the prom, the football champ, whatever those iconic images that we've been sold on, and you can feel like you're lonely.
"A lot of the work comes from the outsider. It's obviously a reflection of how my world was, and how I view the world. The outsiders have to be champions, because we all feel like we're outside."
Asked about the so-called "cool kids," Lynch said, "I don't think the cool kids exist. I think they're faking and fronting and as insecure as the rest of us."
Then, asked how much he is fronting and faking, Lynch joked, "I like to say that I never lied. I embraced people into my dream."
Here's a peek at the opening of The Secret World of Alex Mack, which still generates a lot of '90s nostalgia -- and is available on Apple TV.
Image: Kate O'Hare for Family Theater Productions
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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