Children's television series are television programs designed specifically for children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult-facing themes and are normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake, immediately before and after school schedules generally start country-by-country. Educational themes are also prevalent, as well as the transmission of cautionary tales and narratives which teach problem-solving methods in some fashion or another, such as social disputes.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the series Misterogers debuted in Canada on October 15, 1962, on CBC Television. In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating Misterogers' Neighborhood, later called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on the regional Eastern Educational Television Network. The US national debut of the show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS, until August 31, 2001.
Nickelodeon, occasionally shortened to Nick, is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through Paramount Media Networks’ subdivision, Nickelodeon Group. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children, the channel is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2 to 17, along with a broader family audience through its program blocks.
"Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a broad peak from the mid-1960s through the mid-2000s; over time it declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier media regulations. In the final two decades of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet regulations on children's television programming in the United States, or E/I. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates.
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded in July 1971 by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, and Clive A. Smith, it was named after Nelvana of the Northern Lights, the first Canadian national superhero, who was created by Adrian Dingle. The company's production logo is a polar bear looking at Polaris, the North Star.
Cosgrove Hall Films was a British animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, headquartered in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was a major producer of children's television and animated programmes/films, which are still seen in over eighty countries. The company was wound down by its then owner, ITV plc, on 26 October 2009. It was mainly known for its series Danger Mouse, The Wind in the Willows and Count Duckula.
Craig Michael Bartlett is an American animator. He wrote, directed, created, and produced the Nickelodeon television series Hey Arnold! and the PBS Kids television series Ready Jet Go! and Dinosaur Train.
Blue's Clues is an American live-action/animated interactive educational children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and concluded its run on August 6, 2006, with a total of six seasons and 143 episodes. The original host of the show was Steve Burns, who left in 2002 and was replaced by Donovan Patton for the rest of the series. The show follows an animated blue-spotted dog named Blue as she leaves a trail of clues/paw prints for the host and the viewers to figure out her plans for the day.
Peep and the Big Wide World (PATBWW) is an animated children's television series created by Danish-Canadian animator Kaj Pindal. It revolves around the lives of Peep, Chirp, and Quack, as viewers discover, investigate, and explore the world around them.
Jay Jay the Jet Plane is an American live-action/CGI-animated musical children's television series created by David and Deborah Michel and first aired on The Learning Channel and later moved to PBS Kids, with reruns on Qubo and TBN's Smile. The series aired for a total of 4 seasons and has 62 episodes.
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Jakers in Europe, is an Irish-British-American animated children's television series. The series was broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States, and on CBBC and CBeebies in the United Kingdom. It was also broadcast in Australia on ABC Kids. The series ran for three seasons and 52 episodes total from September 7, 2003, to January 23, 2007, with reruns airing through August 31, 2008. Reruns aired on the Qubo television network from June 30, 2012 to March 26, 2017.
LGBT representation in children's television is representation of LGBT topics, themes, and people in television programming meant for children. LGBT representation in children's programming was often uncommon to non-existent for much of television's history up to the 2010s, but has significantly increased since then.
Fred Rogers Productions is an American non-profit organization specializing in children's programming for public television in the United States. Founded by Fred Rogers, it was initially renamed The Fred Rogers Company in his honor after his death. It produced its flagship program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, under its previous name, Family Communications, Inc.
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is a Flash animated musical television series aimed at pre-school children aged 2–4. It was produced by Fred Rogers Productions, 9 Story Media Group, and Out Of The Blue Enterprises. It debuted on September 3, 2012 on PBS Kids, eleven years after the end of production for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and nine years after Fred Rogers' death. It is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers, the family-oriented television series created and hosted by Rogers that aired from 1968 to 2001. In 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on August 17, 2020 with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Won't You Sing Along with Me?, a musical special that dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 20, 2021, the series was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on September 5, 2022. A one-hour television movie, Daniel Visits a New Neighborhood, aired on June 20, 2022.
Angela C. Santomero is an American television executive producer and co-creator of the Nickelodeon children's television programs Blue's Clues, its spin-off Blue's Room, and its reboot Blue's Clues & You!, as well as the PBS children's shows Super Why!, & Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood the Amazon Studios series Creative Galaxy, Wishenpoof!, and the Netflix original series Charlie's Colorforms City. Santomero has won a Peabody Award, a 2012 Emmy Award for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, two Television Critics Association Awards, and the 2018 World Screen's Kids Trendsetter Award. She has been nominated for more than twenty-five Emmy Awards and numerous Parents' Choice Gold and Silver Awards.
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Series was an Emmy award given to television programming aimed towards children. Children's television had been recognized at the Emmys since the inaugural year. In 1995, a separate award for pre-school children's television was created, and the two categories had been recognized since then. Starting in 2018, a distinction between children's series and educational series was created, resulting in two separate categories. In November 2021, it was announced that all Daytime Emmy categories honoring children's programming would be retired in favor of a separate Children's & Family Emmy Awards ceremony that was held starting in 2022.
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series was an Emmy award honoring writing in children's television programming. Since the award's inception, writing in children's series and specials competed in the same category. However, starting in 1985, separate categories were created for series and specials. In November 2021, it was announced that all Daytime Emmy categories honoring children's programming will be retired in favor of a separate Children's & Family Emmy Awards ceremony that will be held starting in 2022.
Let's Go Luna! is an educational animated children's television series created by Joe Murray that aired on PBS Kids. Murray formerly worked on the Nickelodeon animated series Rocko's Modern Life and Cartoon Network animated series Camp Lazlo. It is co-produced by 9 Story Media Group. Judy Greer provides the voice of the titular Luna. In the first season, there are 38 half-hour episodes and a one-hour special. The second season has 26 episodes and premiered on May 10, 2021. Each episode consists of two 11-minute story segments, with a short segment of one of the characters telling a folktale, song or poem from that country in between.
Z-Squad is an animated television series created by Enemes and Nelvana.
Super Why! is a CGI-animated superhero preschool television series created by Angela C. Santomero and developed by Santomero and Samantha Freeman Alpert for PBS Kids. Santomero and Alpert additionally serve as executive producers alongside Steven DeNure and Anne Loi. The series was produced by Santomero and Alpert's New York City-based production company Out of the Blue Enterprises in co-production with Decode Entertainment for the first season and DHX Studios Halifax for the second and third seasons. Animation was by Toronto-based C.O.R.E. Toons, Gallus Entertainment and DHX Media. The opening and closing theme songs were written by composers and lyricists Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins, with D'Angelo also providing lead vocals for both. The background score for seasons 2 and 3 was composed by Lorenzo Castelli and Jeff Morrow.
