Dr. Seuss Enterprises Bosses Make YouTube “Top Company Priority” As Family Brand Readies ‘Seuss Circle Time’ & Expands Little Dot Studios Pact

EXCLUSIVE: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose,” goes the famous Dr. Seuss refrain – and the late author’s universe of characters are steering directly towards YouTube.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises is today launching Seuss Circle Time, an eight-part YouTube summer takeover series that supports early learning through storytelling, singing, dancing and interactive play. This is part of a major investment into the company’s YouTube channel following a massive spike in viewership.

The show will be hosted by presenters Ziggy and Tizzie and Dr. Seuss’ characters, with each 30-minute episode featuring music, games and learning activities in imaginative settings such as the Circle Time House and Truffula Forest, before hour-long episodes begin in September.

The series comes after the Dr. Seuss YouTube channel relaunched with new investment in July 2024, leading to subscriber growth of 1,084% and viewing up 993%, according to its own analysis.

Currently the channel has 476,000 subs, with the content aimed at children aged 3-7 and their parents and educators. It’s another example of how the Google-owned platform is increasingly dominating TV viewing hours among families and acting the main platform for many global brands. In an exclusive interview below, Susan Brandt, President and CEO at Dr. Seuss Enterprises, called the platform “a top company priority.”

To further the point, Dr. Seuss Enterprises has extended its existing pact with All3Media-owned Little Dot Studios, which has produced two more series, Crafty Fun with The Cat in the Hat and Learn to Draw Dr Seuss Babies. Little Dot, whose own reputation as a key player in the YouTube ecosystem is burgeoning, will continue to manage the channel with Dr. Seuss, and will work with Electric Studios, which is part of Electric Theatre Collective, on the animation.

Little Dot has already made several shows for the channel, including Learn to Read with Dr. Seuss Babies, The Lorax’s Nature Keeper’s Club, The Cat in the Hat’s Quirky Quiz and Draw Your Dream Pet.

“As we think about where to bring the iconic IP of Dr. Seuss, we are always looking at where the next generation of fans are spending their time,” said Brandt.

“With so much family co-viewing happening on YouTube, we felt it was important to take a deliberate approach to building out our channel with high quality, entertaining content. In collaboration with Little Dot Studios, we have been able to quickly, and successfully, scale this destination into a hub that lets millions of fans delight in the iconic Dr. Seuss characters they love on a daily basis.”

James Loveridge, Co-Managing Director – Agency at Little Dot Studios, added: “With our deep understanding of YouTube and children’s media, we’re proud to help grow the brand’s legacy by reaching families across the U.S. and beyond. Dr. Seuss characters are already so beloved, and we are confident that audiences are going to relish viewing their favourite characters in new and interesting ways.”

Dr. Seuss Enterprises was launched in 1993 to promote and protect the literary and artistic works of Dr. Seuss (real name Theodor Seuss Geisel), who wrote and illustrated a series of whimsical stories that include some of the most popular children’s books ever written with hundreds of millions of sales. His stories have been adapted as TV series and movies numerous times, with Seuss winning two Primetime Emmys during his lifetime.

Jim Carrey starred as The Grinch in a 2000 Ron Howard movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the story was later adapted as an animation by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment as The Grinch in 2018. The animated film remains the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all-time. Illumination also adapted The Lorax as a feature film in 2012.

The Dr. Seuss brand has a packed schedule coming up, with a feature film in development with Warner Animation Group, two series and a special at Netflix, and several podcast series with Wondery. Aanimated feature The Cat in the Hat is scheduled for theatrical release in February 2026.

We sat down with Dr. Seuss Enterprises boss Brandt and Joie Yale, the company’s Entertainment Manager, to dive deeper into its YouTube plan.

DEADLINE: How would you best describe the level of investment into this YouTube program pillar, and your overall level of investment into video content for Dr. Seuss?

Susan Brand: We recognize that families with young children are increasingly co-viewing on YouTube and we understand how important the channel is for brand building and long-term engagement. As such, we have prioritized YouTube content creation making it a top company priority. This means we significantly increased our financial investment in order to develop a robust and dynamic library of content. Our goal is to establish the channel as a leading destination for children’s entertainment which is aligned with our mission at Dr. Seuss to educate and entertain generations around the world through all mediums.

DEADLINE: What types of content are working best for your YouTube audience?

Joie Yale: We focus on three core content categories: Reading Reimagined, Wondrous Wonderings, and Curious Creations when developing with our content for our YouTube audience. These categories guide our content strategy and allow us to deliver a balanced mix of literary programming, exploration of the world around us, and imaginative, creative experiences. For our core audience of ages 4 to 6 we recognize that specifically bright, dynamic visuals, themes of nature and animals, and familiar characters such as The Lorax or The Cat in the Hat have performed very well. The project that we’re most excited about right now is Seuss Circle Time, a brand-new YouTube exclusive series featuring live-action talent that brings together all three content territories in one show. It’s a strong example of how we’re expanding the world of Dr. Seuss on YouTube through segments that both educate and entertain.

DEADLINE: How strong is the awareness of the Dr. Seuss stories among new parents and their children?

SB: Dr. Seuss has virtually 100% awareness in the United States among new parents. We are a generational property, with one generation passing their love of our characters and stories down to the next generation. Our challenge is to ensure each generation has the opportunity to engage with our stories, characters and life lessons.

DEADLINE: Does the YouTube channel help bring children to the Dr Seuss book stories?

SB: Our strategy has always been to leverage new content extensions as entry points for the brand and as an opportunity to build lifelong fans. Given the amount of time that young families spend together on YouTube, we saw it as an opportunity for parents to introduce their favorite childhood books and characters to their children, to share their love of Dr. Seuss with their kids. It was not lost on us that the most searched for Dr. Seuss prompt on YouTube is book readings. We wanted to give our fans what they are already looking for, new and delightful ways to engage with our classic stories. Not surprisingly our animated Storytime episodes are one of our most popular series to date. We are always looking for creative ways to bring our original books to life.

DEADLINE: What did Little Dot suggest you do to maximize the performance of the channel?

JY: The team at Little Dot are experts in children’s content creation and channel management. We leveraged their expertise and, collectively, explored a range of content formats to serve different audience needs, including storytelling and creative play as well as early learning and nature-based exploration. Together we developed a strategic programming mix that includes full episodes, shorts, compilations, marathons and seasonal content. This approach allows us to consistently reach families with engaging content that resonates and performs well across diverse viewing habits.

DEADLINE: What is the status of your other TV or film projects in development?

SB: We are thrilled that our new content and approach are resonating with our fans. We are committed to continuing our significant investment and building on the momentum from the past 11 months during which our subscribership increased by 1,000%. At the same time, we are always broadening our entertainment portfolio and have several exciting projects on the horizon including three new films with Warner Animation Group, two series and a special with Netflix, and multiple podcast series with Wondery at Amazon. We are particularly excited about our upcoming animated feature, The Cat in the Hat, scheduled for theatrical release in February 2026.