April 7 (2017-04-07) – November 19, 2017 (2017-11-19)
The Toy Box is an American reality television show that debuted on April 7, 2017 on ABC. The show is about contestants as aspiring entrepreneurs, who present toy inventions first to a panel of toy industry professionals, then to a panel of child-judges. Only toys approved by the mentors are presented to the judges, "In the Toy Box," who select one toy to advance to the finals of each episode. The season's winning toy is produced and distributed by Mattel and sold exclusively at Toys "R" Us stores.[3]
On June 16, 2017, ABC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on October 1, 2017, and ended on November 19, 2017.[4] After Toys "R" Us announced that all United Kingdom and United States operations would be going out of business, the show was canceled with no official announcement.
Judges
Kids
In Season 1, a group of child-judges, up to the age of 13, play with the toys entered into the competition following the panel of toy industry experts. The children then vote on which toy was the best in each episode. Season 1 had four child-judges that consistently appeared in each episode.
In Season 2, the professional judging did not occur on camera. Season 2 had ten child-judges, five of which were selected to judge for each episode. Only one child-judge from Season 1 (Noah Ritter) returned as a judge in Season 2.
^Noah was 7 years old in season 1, and 8 years old in season 2.
Professionals
In Season 1, three professional judges and mentors (who were esteemed toy reviewers and children's product creators) reviewed each product before it was sent to the child judges. This process happened off-screen. The professional judges in Season 1 were:
The identity of the professional judges was not disclosed to viewers in Season 2.
Production
The Toy Box was developed by Hudsun Media and Electus. ABC and Mattel Creation agreed that Hudsun would produce the show on their behalf.[1] In October 2016, ABC picked up the show[1] and Mattel greenlit the show for the 2016–17 Season.[5]Eric Stonestreet was indicated at that time as being the host.[1]
Episodes
Season 1 (2017)
"YES" and "NO" indicate the adult panel results; "FINALIST" designates the toy chosen by the child jury to advance to the finals.
"Butterfly Book" double-sided dual view books with swiveling pages (NO); "My Ballerina Doll" dolls that are articulated for standard ballet positions (YES; FINALIST); "Snap N’ Roll" pocket-size cars each with a launcher on its rear (YES); "Lil’ Fruityz" fruit-themed scented plush dolls (NO); "Piñata Backpack" that disperses all of its candy when a string is pulled (YES)
"Tubelox" lifesize construction set (YES); "Pool Cubes" submerged building blocks (NO); "Emoti Plush" plush dolls with adjustable facial expressions (YES); "The Grid" game mat with tossed tokens (NO); "Lightbox Terrier" creative art lightbox (YES; FINALIST)
"Grandmas2Share" grandma-themed plush dolls (YES); "The Walking Dinosaur" wheeled skeleton (NO); "Parashoot" slingshot-parachute (YES); "Cardtivity" construction set of plastic cards (NO); "Chromotag" wearable tag that changes color when it gets wet (YES; FINALIST)
In the Finals, each of the seven chosen finalist toys return. After all playing with the finalist toys once more, each of the child judges eliminates one toy from the competition (Toby with "Chromotag", Aalyrah with "My Ballerina Doll", Sophia Grace with "Wiggies", and Noah with "Arya Ball").
Out of the Final 3 ("Lightbox Terrier", "Candy Krusher" and "3D Liquid Art"), the winning toy (to be produced and sold in stores) is "3D Liquid Art".
Season 2 (2017)
"YES" and "NO" indicate the child panel results (getting at least three "Yes" votes from the five child judges); "FINALIST" designates the toy chosen by the child jury to advance to the finals.
In the Finals, each of the seven chosen winning toys return. In this episode, Eric Stonestreet split the ten judges into five teams. After all the teams had played with the toys once more, each of the teams eliminated one toy from the competition (Madison and Gideon with "CLICKEYbits", Emma and Joachim with "Poshies", Olivia and Kyle with "Ninja Cards", Sydney and Adi with "Water Constructor", and Noah and Paxton with "ArchipelaGolf").
Out of the Final 2 toys ("Water Dodger" and "Hovercraft") the winning toy (to be made and sold exclusively at Toys "R" Us stores) is "Water Dodger".
Visited with the Judges: Richard Dickson (President of Mattel)
List of toys featured at Toys "R" Us
Other than the guaranteed Mattel contract for the winner, other non-winning toys are also featured at Toys "R" Us. Occasionally, the toy's branding changes before being distributed.