A new season of “Molly of Denali” and two premier podcasts are coming to PBS Kids in the fall. “Pinkalicious & Peterrific” and “Odd Squad” will make their podcast premieres. Lesli Rotenberg, chief programming executive and general manager, children’s media and education, PBS, said it is a goal of PBS Kids to create content on new platforms.
“Our approach at PBS KIDS is to seek learning opportunities in every new technology and medium. As families continue to seek out meaningful entertainment and creative approaches for at-home learning, we are glad to offer them fresh content with engaging storylines through podcasts,” Rotenberg said. “Each podcast allows young fans to get closer to their favorite characters, adding another dimension to their story and the chance to join them on more exciting new adventures.”
“Molly of Denali,” entering its second season, follows the adventures of Molly and Trini on a train from Denali to Anchorage. “Molly of Denali,” produced by GBH in partnership with PRX and Gen-Z Media, returns with an eight-episode series starting Sept. 30. Two episodes will be released weekly.
In the new podcast series, Molly and Trini board a mystery train. A jewel necklace ends up missing and Detective Mabray and her assistant, Dr. Mumford, are recruited to solve the case. Molly and Trini search for clues as listeners follow along. Some unexpected guests, strange bird calls, and a stop in a spooky town await listeners on the mystery train.
Major funding for the “Molly of Denali” podcast is provided by the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and IKEA Retail U.S. “Molly of Denali,” an award-winning animated PBS Kids Series, is produced by WGBH Boston and follows the adventures of a curious and resourceful 10-year-old girl, Molly Mabray. She is an Alaska Native girl who lives in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. Molly helps her mom and dad run the Denali Trading Post, a general store, bunkhouse and transport hub. “Molly of Denali” is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature a Native American and Alaska native lead character. The show was created as part of the Ready To Learn initiative, a collaboration between CPB and PBS funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
“Pinkalicious & Peterrific” premiers with two episodes on Oct. 28. The series has 10 episodes, with one new episode released per week.
“Pinkalicious & Peterrific” is a music-based podcast that encourages little listeners to dance, sing and make believe. As an extension of the podcast, the Pinkalicious Activity Guide is available through email with reading list recommendations and other resources tied to every episode.
Major funding for “Pinkalicious & Peterrific” is provided by Kiddie Academy, Homer and Target. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Northern Ireland Screen provided additional series content included in the podcast. “Pinkalicious & Peterrific” is based on the best-selling picture books by Victoria Kahn and incorporates music, dance, theater and visual arts.
The “Odd Squad: Odd Squadcast” premieres Nov. 25 and features seven episodes. Two new episodes will be released weekly.
The odd-ventures of “Odd Squad” is a multiple Emmy-award winning series from Fred Rogers Productions and Sinking Ship Entertainment. The “Odd Squadcast” follows The Big O as she hosts a weekly radio address for agents across the globe, and tries to stop an odd invasion of headquarters in the process.
“Odd Squad” was created with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is designed for children ages 5 to 8 to help with building math, problem-solving and collaboration skills.
“Odd Squad” was launched as part of the Ready To Learn initiative and is in its third season. Each episode features math concepts used by the four young agents of Odd Squad, an agency with a mission to investigate strange happenings. The agents use reasoning and logic, with teamwork and a dose of humor, to explore the “math in science.”
