Ask an Assistant: Kayla Black (Global Acquisitions & Content Partnerships Assistant at Nickelodeon)

Kayla Black, Global Acquisitions & Content Partnerships Assistant at Nickelodeon

Interviewed by Matthew Threadgill, Assistant at Disney Branded Television & your Executive Editor at THA

Ever wondered what it's like to work at the headquarters of green slime and a talking sponge? For Kayla Black, assistant on Nickelodeon’s Global Acquisitions & Content Partnerships team, that’s just a typical workday. I had the awesome opportunity to talk with Kayla about her unique career path from intern to full-time staffer, why she believes fun shows are important for kids, and of course, her very complicated feelings about the color orange!

*Note: Kayla speaks solely from her own experience and not on behalf of Nickelodeon.

Hey, Kayla! You’ve had such an exciting career journey so far. Before you landed your role as an assistant on Nickelodeon’s Global Acquisitions & Content Partnerships team last year, you interned on the team in summer 2023. To gain a role on a team you interned with is a goal for so many college grads–but it’s never guaranteed. Can you talk about how you made the jump from intern to full-time?

It’s crazy hearing it back, because I didn’t realize how back-to-back it all was while I was living it. I was still in school during the internship, with classes constantly changing, so everything just kind of blurred together.

The jump definitely wasn’t as seamless as it might sound. It wasn’t just like, ‘Oh, I interned and then got promoted into the role.’ I left and then came back, which really shaped my journey. And I’m not saying everyone should leave and come back— but in my case, it helped. I interned over the summer, got extended into the fall, and at that point I was like, I love this, I want to stay here, I don’t want to intern anywhere else. I knew I had a semester in the city starting that following spring, and I really hoped to continue at Nickelodeon, whether as an intern, freelancer, anything. I just wanted to stay in the door.

But at the time, there wasn’t an opportunity for me to stay. So I stepped away, and that in-between period actually ended up being really valuable. I got to gain experience in live-action at Sesame Street, and then current series and development at Disney Junior. And when I applied for this assistant role, those experiences seemed to have brought so much extra value to me as a candidate.

Wow, super cool that you’ve had that experience at all of these different places. My next question for you, you’ve been an assistant for about seven months now. Has it been what you've expected, and what have been some of your biggest surprises and favorite parts?

I was gonna say it’s been what I expected but, it’s actually exceeded my expectations by a lot, in a good way. Coming into it, and this is kind of the point of doing interviews like this, you come in with a certain perception of what an assistant actually does. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to manage the calendar, book meetings, do pitch reviews, and that’s it.’ But as soon as I started, I realized how curated each person’s role is based on what they like and what their skill sets are.

I’ve been able to expand in just these few months. I’m not just scheduling and doing reviews. I’m also shadowing on some work in development and exploring more of the business side of things too. There’s a lot of opportunity to keep learning, which I assumed would go away once I wasn’t an intern anymore.

And one of the big things I’ve learned is self-grace. I came in thinking, ‘Okay, now I’m full-time staff, I need to get everything right immediately.’ But I’ve learned to remind myself, ‘No, it’s okay, you’re still learning.’ We’re all learning, things are constantly changing. That mindset has been really helpful.

And I think another part of it is trust. When I was an intern, I was super mindful about everything. I’d be like, ‘Hi everyone, I’m going to take my lunch now, I’ll be back at three!’ And now it’s like, ‘Just go, Kayla.’ Obviously, I still communicate if I’m leaving or running late, but there’s just this trust that I’ll get my work done and handle what needs to be handled. It’s more breathable than I anticipated.

Ok so, Global Acquisitions. Can you speak to what that is for those unfamiliar?

My little logline is: I shop for shows. We get pitches from all over the world for our kids channels. Our job is really to filter through those pitches and figure out what would be a good fit for Nick, and what fits our model, both for the specific countries we serve, and for the network overall.

Got it. Let’s talk about the common denominator across all of the companies you’ve worked at so far (Sesame, Disney Junior, Nickelodeon)-- they’re all in kids & family! What drew you to this side of the business?

Oh, yes, kids and family! I’ve heard that once you’re in it, they keep you in it, which I’m very happy about.

I grew up acting. I’ve been acting since I was little, and it’s always been a big part of who I am. I remember in high school, probably around junior or senior year, while I was thinking about college auditions, I started reflecting on how I could expand on the skills I had and where my knowledge really was. A lot of my friends were very Broadway. They knew every show, every actor, everything. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know all that... so what do I know?’ And for me, it was kids cartoons.

Even when I was little, I remember telling my mom, I’m not going to watch grown-up stuff when I’m an adult, I’m going to keep watching cartoons. And I do. I still enjoy it. It’s always been a part of me. It has felt like returning to one of my first loves and finding ways to expand on it.

It all just kind of makes sense for me. And I never want to leave!

Love it. And I believe you’re still an actor, correct? How do you bridge these two different worlds, acting and global acquisitions?

Yes! I really describe it to everyone as having two tracks in my life that I live at the same time. On one side, I’m climbing the corporate ladder. And even though the position is still fairly new, it’s already evolving into something I really love.

And then on the creative side, I’m always working on my craft. Always performing, always training. I love directing, too. My dream is to have my own production company and create spaces and opportunities for myself and other people. I want to keep moving up on both sides and build something that allows for both worlds to exist together.

I want to professionally play every day. That's my life’s logline! 

You’re so good with phrases. Professionally play everyday and shop for shows! 

Nickelodeon’s tagline lately has been “We Make Fun.” And you all certainly do! Why do you think “fun” content matters for kids?

Hmmm. I think this kind of touches on both sides of what we’ve been talking about. Something we really strive for, especially when looking at shows, is that kid point of view. And the reason fun is so important, even if it’s a show that has educational elements, like social-emotional learning, for example, is because it needs to feel relatable for kids.

Kids are always playing, always imagining something. If the goal is to teach something, like a social-emotional skill, you don’t want it to feel like, “Okay, when you’re angry, you need to do deep breathing. The end.” That’s boring. Instead, it should feel like play. Kids learn through imitation, by watching their friends on the playground, seeing how people interact, and then applying it in their own lives. It’s more applicable when it feels integrated into the way they already engage with the world: playing, having fun, making jokes, being silly.

And even as adults, we want to be around fun people. If someone’s boring, you’re only half-listening to what they’re saying. It’s the same for kids. You don’t want the content to feel like it’s talking down to them. You want that relatability and that playfulness. So I’m all for the fun.

If you’re not for the fun, what are ya even doing? And to round out our interview, I have a few fun questions. If you could reboot any old Nickelodeon show and have full creative control, what would it be? Without giving away anything y’all have in development, of course.

Such a good question! I think My Life as a Teenage Robot.  I feel like it’s kind of forgotten, and it would be really cool to see how it could evolve, especially with how much technology has changed since it originally aired.

And honestly, I think if it were to be modernized, it might actually be really cool to see it as a live-action series. Obviously in animation you can get away with a lot more, but seeing that real emotion of a robot navigating teen life — it could be such a fun coming-of-age story but told from a robot girl’s perspective.

That’s a deepcut. And my very last question. You went to Syracuse University, now you’re at Nickelodeon—both very orange places (their signature color). Orange clearly keeps following you throughout your career. How do you feel about the color orange?

Oh, I hate it. It’s funny because I also don’t like oranges, the fruit, either, which was a whole thing at Syracuse. I’m slowly growing into orange as an accent color. Like, my water bottles are orange, because all the merch from both Syracuse and Nickelodeon. But I don’t wear it. It’s just not my color. I feel the same way about yellow, too, which wasn’t part of the question, but yeah, very hard for me!