Junior pipeline, as of June 2008

Public TV’s coming attractions
for kids

Compiled by Katie June-Friesen
Updated June 11, 2008

Fall 2008

Betsy’s Kindergarten Adventure — Producing organization: Corner Stone Animation LLC, OBX Capital. Executive producer: Michael Pietrzak. Creators: Betsy Quinn and Fred Crippin. Episodes: 26/30. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: 2-6 years. Curricular focus: transitioning from home to school environment, academic and behavioral lessons. Betsy’s adventures address the unfamiliar aspects of formal education and include both moral and academic lessons.

Martha Speaks — Producing organization: WGBH. Funder: U.S. Department of Education Ready to Learn Initiative. Executive producer: Carol Greenwald. Based on books by Susan Meddaugh. Episodes: 40/30. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: 3-6 years. Curricular focus: literacy. Martha, a family dog, consumes alphabet soup and gains the ability to talk, but she doesn’t always understand what words mean. Her provide a narrative context for vocabulary. For example, she wants to be a fire dog but learns she can’t do all the things a fire dog does. In the episode, kids learn words such as “fact,” “fiction,” “reality” and “fantasy.”

Sid the Science Kid — Producing organization: Jim Henson Co. and KCET, Los Angeles. Executive producers: Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Halle Stanford, Bradley Zweig, Joyce Campbell. Episodes: 40/30. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: preschool. Curricular focus: science, problem solving. Inquisitive Sid talks with his stuffed animals about questions he wants answered, such as “Why did my banana turn brown?” and why is sickness called a “cold” when you actually feel hot? Sid’s explorations introduce kids to concepts such as measurement, the five senses, change and simple machines.

Lomax: The Hound of Music — Producing organization: Sirius Thinking, Ltd. Executive Producers: Christopher Cerf, Norman Stiles, Richard Fernandes, Richard Moore. Presenting station: Connecticut Public Television. Episodes: 13/30. Distributor: PBS Plus. Age group: 3-7 years. Curricular focus: music education. Lomax the dog and his sidekick Delta the cat (both puppets), along with their human companion Amy, take a train ride across the country to discover the history of American roots music. Along the way they meet musical celebrities and learn tunes such as “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” and “The Gooney Bird Song.”

Wunderkind Little Amadeus — Producing organization: LAR Little Amadeus. Episodes: 26/30. Distributor: APT. Age group: 5-8 years. Curricular focus: music education. Informed by historical research, this English version of the original German series follows the adventures of cheeky boy genius Amadeus Mozart in the 18th century as he composes music and performs across Europe. Kids learn musical recognition and music history.

Artopia — Producing organization: WNET with Decode Entertainment and CORE Digital Pictures. Executive producers: Sandra Sheppard, Jill Peters. Episodes: TBA/30. Status: pilot launches on air and online in fall. Distributor: TBA. Age group: 5-8 years. Curricular focus: art education and appreciation. Star character Nina has the power to travel to Artopia, an alternate universe where inanimate artworks come alive. Nina meets characters from paintings and sculptures — including Streak, a boy she painted. Nina and Streak have to keep the different cultures, styles and ages in Artopia in line.

January 2009

The Electric Company — Producing organization: Sesame Workshop. Funder: U.S. Department of Education Ready to Learn Initiative. Episodes: 26/30. Distributor: PBS Kids Go! Age group: 6-9 years. Curricular focus: A reinvented version of the 1970s original that made literacy hip and happening, the vocab-heavy series uses pop music, comedy skits and wordplay to teach literacy.

Fall 2009

Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps — Producing organization: HIT Entertainment, SD Entertainment and WNET. Executive producers: Karen Barnes, Sandra Sheppard. Based on the books by Katharine Holabird. Episodes: 40/30. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: preschool. Curricular focus: music and dance appreciation. Eight-year-old ballerina mouse Angelina begins at a new performing arts school, where she learns new forms of dance such as modern, tap, jazz and ethnic.

2009 and beyond

WildKratts — Producing organization: Kratt Brothers/Creature Team. Episodes: TBA. Status: in development, comes to PBS in 2010. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: 6-11 years. Curricular focus: science and nature. Zoologist brothers Chris and Matt Kratt and a group of young scientists explore and protect the animal world.

Nate the Great — Producing organization: WNET. Executive producer: Kristin Martin. Based on the books by Marjorie Sharmat. Episodes: 40/30. Status: in development. Distributor: PBS Kids Go! Age group: 6 years and up. Curricular focus: multidisciplinary problem solving, critical thinking. Nate is a pancake-loving kid detective who solves mysteries about history, math, science and social studies. His friends’ gang — and their comical pets — help him investigate.

Go Figure (w.t.) — Producing organization: WGBH. Funder for development: National Science Foundation. Status: in development. Distributor: PBS Kids. Age group: preschool. Curricular focus: math.

Do the Math! (w.t.) — Producing organization: WNET. Episodes: TBA. Status: in development. Distributor: TBA. Age group: middle and high school. Curricular focus: math. This reality show will use music and humor to help students develop algebraic thinking skills to solve real-world programs.