Summer days at the Poconos and South Jersey campsites inspired South Jersey native to create ‘Hot Wheels Let’s Race’

Before cutting his teeth as a TV writer, South Jersey native Jordan Gershowitz played for the neon pop-rock band Rushmore, which performed at Philly venues like World Cafe Live and the historic Trocadero Theatre in the mid-2000s. The band opened for Plain White T’s and Justin Bieber, and was even nominated for the best breakout artist award at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

The S.J. band didn’t win that night. Gershowitz later decided to pursue another childhood passion: kids’ TV and animation.

“TV and film was something that I always loved in connection with music, and so that’s kind of what I focused on,” Gershowitz said.

After writing for Sesame Street, The Tom and Jerry Show, Where’s Waldo?, The Snoopy Show, and other iconic kids’ shows, the two-time Emmy-nominated writer is now the story editor of Netflix’s new kids’ series, Hot Wheels Let’s Race.

The Hot Wheels animated series, which premiered last month, follows six ambitious roadsters at the Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage Racing Camp who overcome obstacles as they look to become the new face of speed racing.

“Philly was strong in fostering that creativity and hunger to learn,” said the Westampton, Burlington County, native, who spent a lot of time at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Franklin Institute. The opportunity to helm the Mattel show was a full-circle moment for Gershowitz, whose father, Ed, worked for Mattel and sold Barbie dolls, G.I. Joe figures, and Hot Wheels cars.

As a kid, Gershowitz joined his father on trips to the N.Y. Toy Fair, where he saw the unveiling of new toys before they hit stores for Christmas. The experience deepened his love for Hot Wheels and G.I. Joe figures, but it also opened his mind to storytelling.

In developing the Hot Wheels characters and the series’ various arcs, Gershowitz harked back to his summer days at the Poconos and South Jersey campsites. “I’m going to take my experiences and all the things I loved from my time at camp and put them in the show,” he said. “The characters we’re going to create are going to the most high-octane, ultra, epic, and mega sleepaway camp.”

Driven to break into Hollywood as a TV writer, Gershowitz interned at Warner Brothers and eventually landed a staff position for a Nickelodeon animated series called Welcome to the Wayne. “To use a Hot Wheels phrase, it was pedal to the metal,” he said. “I was just focused on all things writing, and show by show and brick by brick, I was building up my credits to be where I am today.”

To see his son’s transition from musician to story editor on a hit Netflix series, Ed Gershowitz couldn’t be prouder. “Nothing gives a parent greater joy than to see your kids succeed,” he said. “Whether writing an original song or a TV script, at the heart of both is taking an idea and creating a story. [Gershowitz] has the ability to take an idea and turn it into something special.”

Since the show’s premiere, Hot Wheels Let’s Race has been one of the leading kids’ shows on Netflix in the U.S. and other countries.

While he’s been asked to work on content for older audiences before, Gershowitz enjoys the challenge of conjuring up stories that connect with young audiences and keeps their attention on a platform as large as Netflix..

One of the show’s developers, Rob David, said there’s no faking Gershowitz’s level of passion. He’s fully ingrained in the series, and there’s no better person to take the helm. “I love nothing more than breaking story, and when you’re working with someone like [Gershowitz], it’s just a great pleasure,” David said. “Kids at home and their parents can tell when they’re watching something being made by people who believe in [a project], versus people who are just kind of phoning it in.”