PBS Announces New Shows at Summer Press Tour

 

PBS KIDS ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF FAN FAVORITE WITH NEW DIGITAL SERIES: THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW

Series From WGBH Boston Will Premiere September 28 on PBS KIDS Digital Platforms

This week at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS KIDS announced that this fall, the star of the classic series FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN returns in THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW, an all-new short-form animated digital series designed to help kids ages 4-8 learn core science concepts through videos, game-play and hands-on activities. The PBS KIDS series stars canine host extraordinaire Ruff Ruffman, who, along with his assistants Blossom and Chet, answers questions from real kids, takes on challenges and learns the value of perseverance—all while modeling science inquiry skills.

 

All 20 videos of THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW will be available September 28 on PBS KIDS digital platforms, including the free PBS KIDS Video App andpbskids.org. The videos will roll out on the PBS KIDS YouTube channel starting on September 28, and segments from the series will air on the new PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream this fall. PBS stations will also engage families with the content in underserved communities across the U.S.

 

Related games will be available on the free PBS KIDS Games App and pbskids.org, and a RUFF RUFFMAN app will be available on a variety of tablet and mobile devices. One of the RUFF RUFFMAN games, Fish Force, will offer hundreds of possible levels and features that can be tailored to the child, based on performance and behavior. This is the first of many new adaptive games for young children that PBS KIDS will roll out in the coming months.

 

“At PBS KIDS, we’re always looking for ways to innovate across platforms through new formats and interactive content to meet the needs of today’s kids,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS. “We’re excited to offer THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW through digital shorts to introduce children to a variety of science concepts that allow them to learn from challenges and failure. Ruff is a character kids can relate to, modeling skills they can apply to their own daily curiosities.”

 

THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW was developed as part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS Ready To Learn Initiative with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Ready To Learn is a federal program that supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families.

Linda Simensky, vice president, children’s programming, PBS says she hopes that THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW demonstrates to children that science is a process and you aren’t always going to the get the answer right away.  But to keep asking questions to find out the solution.

Produced by WGBH Boston, the series is part of a multiplatform, playful learning media experience themed around four kid-friendly physical science topics: wearable science, sports science, kitchen chemistry and structures. Research has shown that the more children are exposed to foundational STEM skills early on in life, the more successful they are in other areas of learning in the future.*

 

“Public media’s free and high-quality educational programs introduce important learning concepts to children in innovative ways,” said Deb Sanchez, CPB’s Senior Vice President for Education and Children’s Content. “THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW demonstrates for young learners how to think like scientists, promoting positive perceptions of themselves as explorers of their world and learners.”

 

 

THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW: Ruff Ruffman is voiced by five-time Emmy^®-nominated actor/writer Jim Conroy, the voice of every character in the Ruff Ruffman family since its debut in 2005. Carol Greenwald, Executive Producer; Marcy Gunther, Senior Producer; Bill Shribman, Digital Executive Producer; Glen Berger, Script Writer.

 

*Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children

 

PBS KIDS ANNOUNCES NEW SERIES LUNA AROUND THE WORLD,

PREMIERING FALL 2018

 

Offering a Social Studies Curriculum, Multiplatform Show Will Invite Young Children to Explore World Cultures

 

Beverly Hills, CA, July 30, 2017 – Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, PBS KIDS announced the new animated series LUNA AROUND THE WORLD, produced by 9 Story Media Group and created by Emmy Award-winning animator, writer and artist Joe Murray (Rocko’s Modern Life, Camp Lazlo). This new multiplatform series will debut nationwide in fall 2018 on PBS stations, the new 24/7 PBS KIDS channel and PBS KIDS digital platforms. With a social studies curriculum, LUNA AROUND THE WORLD will encourage kids ages 4-7 to explore and appreciate cultures from all over the world, and build global citizenship and social skills.

 

“Our approach with LUNA AROUND THE WORLD is to offer engaging stories and adventures that are fun, developmentally appropriate and align with our whole-child approach to content,” said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS. “Luna is a trusted guide who will encourage children to learn about the world beyond their own neighborhoods. The series seeks to foster an appreciation for cultural diversity, developing social and civic skills and promoting global stewardship.”

 

LUNA AROUND THE WORLD follows the adventures of three friends – Leo, a wombat from Australia; Carmen, a butterfly from Mexico; and Andy, a frog from the U.S. – as they traverse the globe with their parents’ traveling performance troupe, “Circo Fabuloso.” At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the moon guides the trio as they experience the local language, music and daily life. The gang’s adventures take them across continents – from London to Cairo to Beijing – where they explore the food, architecture and other features that make each region unique.

 

“LUNA AROUND THE WORLD is designed to ignite kids’ curiosity about the world and inspire them to learn about the many different cultures that call it home,” said series creator Joe Murray. “Through this show, my goal is to give all children the opportunity to explore cultures other than their own, and to learn about the similarities that unite all of us – through challenges that kids can relate to, with the universal language of laughter woven into each story.”

 

LUNA AROUND THE WORLD brings an innovative approach to social studies for young viewers. The series takes kids on an informative and imaginative exploration of global culture to make connections between communities all over the world, integrating concepts of anthropology, history, ecology, geography, sociology and economics.

 

“We are thrilled to be working with PBS KIDS and the incredibly talented Joe Murray to bring LUNA AROUND THE WORLD to life,” said Vince Commisso, President & CEO of 9 Story Media Group. “We’ve had the pleasure of working with PBS KIDS over the years on several shows, including DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, PEG + CAT, WILD KRATTS and NATURE CAT,and it’s exciting to take our partnership to the next level. The PBS KIDS team is best-in-class at what they do, and showcasing LUNA AROUND THE WORLD across their various platforms will have tremendous reach with kids.”

 

Along with the television series, LUNA AROUND THE WORLD will offer digital content for kids, parents and teachers, debuting in fall 2018. LUNA AROUND THE WORLD games will be available at pbskids.org and on the free PBS KIDS Games App, along with clips and full episodes streaming across PBS KIDS’ video platforms, including the free PBS KIDS Video App. A LUNA AROUND THE WORLD app will also launch after the series’ debut. Parent resources, including tips and hands-on activities to extend the learning at home, will be available on thePBS Parents site, and PBS LearningMedia will offer classroom-ready materials for teachers, including video excerpts, games, teaching tips and printable activities.

 

Each episode of LUNA AROUND THE WORLD will include two 11-minute stories as well as interstitial content – including live-action segments about arts and cultures, and animated folktales and songs. The series is currently in production of 38 half-hour episodes and a one-hour special.

 

9 Story Distribution International is managing the distribution and merchandising rights for LUNA AROUND THE WORLD worldwide outside Canada.

 

Pinkalicious and Peterrific will also premiere this coming February 2018.  You can read our post and interview with the creators here.  Please enter our fun giveaway going on for two book by Victoria Kann! See below.

PBS Programming for 2017-2018

Other shows I am excited to see include POV “Swim Team”, The Vietnam War, American Experience “Into the Amazon”, American Masters “Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive”, Nature “H is for Hawk: A New Chapter” and Masterpiece Season 2 of “Victoria”, Independent Lens “Chasing Trane”, Independent Lens “I Am Not Your Negro”, Finding Your Roots Season 4, Washington Week, The Farthest – Voyager in Space, Beyond a Year in Space, Nova “Black Hole Apocalypse”, Frontline “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Anne of Green Gables “The Good Stars” and Live from Lincoln Center.

POV “Swim Team” premieres Monday, October 2, 2017 10pm ET. The film chronicles the overwhelming struggles and extraordinary triumphs of 3 young athletes with autism and shows how a swim team can bring hope to a community.

THE VIETNAM WAR is a 10 part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.  Premieres Sundays through Thursdays at 8pm ET September 17-21 and 24-28. The series tells the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never been told on film.  THE VIETNAM WAR features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as many Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.  At the press junket Ken Burns said that there is not one single truth in war and he hopes that this series offers a full perspective from all sides.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Into the Amazon” Premieres January 2018.  In 1914, President Theodore Roosevelt and legendary Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon made a perilous journey into the dark and deadly heart of the Amazon rainforest to chart an unknown river in one of the wildest places on earth.  What was anticipated to be relatively tranquil journey turned out to be a brutal test of courage and character, claiming the lives of three men and almost killing the president.   We heard from Tweed Roosevelt, great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt who says there is still lots of adventure to be had in the rainforest.  Though not as dangerous as the time his great-grandfather traveled, but there is still a lot of uncharted territory to explore.  We also heard from John Maggio, writer, director and producer who says he shot the film in black and white so as to focus on the depth and contrast of the rainforest.  With all that greenery, he felt it could detract from the story and wanted to show how perilous the forest can be.

AMERICAN MASTERS “Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive” Premieres Monday, October 30, 9pm ET.  American Masters draws on the rich palette of Edgar Allan Poe’s evocative imagery and sharply drawn plots to tell the real story of the notorious author.  The film, featuring Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor Denis O’Hare, explores the misrepresentations of Poe as an alcoholic madman akin to the narrators of his horror stories.  Denis O’Hare said he felt Edgar A. Poe poems are pure, naive, positive and childlike in the best possible way. Eric Stange, writer and director says the saddest poem Edgar A. Poe wrote was “Alone” because it reflects all the loss that Poe had in his life.  From losing his parents to wife and other tragedies. He also shared with us the reason that they titled the show Buried Alive is because during that time period it was a real concern for people to be buried alive and that Mr. Poe had a real fear of this happening to him.  Plus, the amount of debt and loss he suffered in his lifetime signify a type of being buried alive.

 

NATURE “H is for Hawk: A New Chapter” premieres Wednesday, November 1, 8pm ET. Based on Helen Macdonald’s international best-selling book “H is for Hawk” told the story of a grieving daughter who found healing in the form of Mabel, a goshawk.  The goshawk is one of Mother Nature’s own fighter jets, capable of finding and killing its prey with tremendous speed. Helen Macdonald says that the book is as much as about the goshawk and it is about the grieving process and that as she did book tours across the country and abroad she realized how we are all connected by this very human life experience.  Whether it it the loss of a parent or other significant loss, we all have different ways we go through the grieving process.

She spoke about how Mabel helped her during this difficult time. The show focuses on a new goshawk that she trains and bonds with.

MASTERPIECE “Victoria” Season 2 Premieres January 2018.

INDEPENDENT LENS “Chasing Trane” Premieres Monday, November 6th at 10pm ET.

INDEPENDENT LENS “I Am Not Your Negro’ Premieres Monday, January 15, 10pm ET.

FINDING YOUR ROOTS, Season 4 Premieres Tuesdays, October 3 – December 26,2017, 8-9pm ET.

 

 

THE FARTHEST – VOYAGER IN SPACE Premieres Wednesday, August 23, 9 pm ET.  Learn how NASA’s epic Voyager missions. launched in 1977, revolutionized our understanding of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their dazzling moons and rings.  In 2012, Voyager 1 left our solar system and ushered humanity into the interstellar age.

BEYOND A YEAR IN SPACE Premieres Wednesday, November 15th, 9pm ET.

 

Good News!  We’ve got a super awesome giveaway for a lucky dandelion!  Giveaway includes:

 

Victoria Hardcover by Daisy Goodwin

Victoria: The Heart and Mind of a Young Queen Official Companion To The Masterpiece Presentation on PBS – hardcover

Pinkalicious Goldidoodles by Victoria Kann

Peterrific by Victoria Kann – hardcover

Colored Pencil Set

Valued around $100.

Please share with other book lovers, like our dandelion moms Facebook Page and Instagram Page.  Good Luck!

 

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