My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated children's television series produced by Hasbro that ran from to as part of the My Little Pony toy franchise. The series tied in with the relaunch of dolls, play sets and original programming for the American children's cable channel The Hub later rebranded as Hub Network, and later, Discovery Family.
Lauren Faust was selected as the creative developer and executive producer for the show based on her previous experience with other animated children's shows such as The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends on Cartoon Network.
Under Hasbro's guidance, Faust developed the show to appeal to the target demographic of young girls, but created characters and settings that challenged formerly stereotypical norms of " girly " images, adding adventure and humorous elements to keep parents interested.
The series initially received widespread praise from both television critics and parental groups. It also found a large audience of adult Internet users in late and early , forming a subculture. The fandom adopted the name bronies , a portmanteau of bro and pony. Female fans are known as pegasisters , a portmanteau of pegasus and sister. Though initially considered to propagate the humorous and ironic concept of adults enjoying a show intended for young girls, the fandom gradually showed over time a deeper, genuine appreciation for the show far beyond this concept, a trend that has come to be known as " new sincerity ".
Technology-savvy fans have created numerous works in writing, music, art, gaming and video based on the show, have established websites and fan conventions for the show and have participated in charitable events around the show and those that create it.
