"Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" to Air on PBS Kids September 2012

PBS has announced that “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” a new animated series from the Fred Rogers Company will debut in the fall of 2012 as part of the PBS Kids line up.

"Fred Rogers revolutionized children's media with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood continues on this path of innovation, helping the next generation of young children learn and grow in new ways," said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood fills a critical gap in children’s media today: modeling the behaviors and habits that kids need in order to excel in formal learning settings – essentially, learning how to learn.”

The series is being developed in partnership with Angela Santomero, co-founder of Out of the Blue Enterprises and the creative force behind the Blue’s Clues and the hit PBS KIDS literacy series SUPER WHY!

 “We’re very excited to be creating a program that builds on Fred’s legacy in such fresh and innovative ways.  Fred knew that school readiness skills are the foundation for academic achievement and a full life, and now a growing body of research confirms this,” said Bill Isler, President of The Fred Rogers Company.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is based on the next generation of the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood characters.  All of the original Neighborhood of Make-Believe characters have grown up and now have preschoolers of their own.  Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood stories revolve around a four-year-old Daniel Tiger, son of the original Daniel Tiger, and his preschool friends.  The series uses musical strategies grounded in Fred Rogers’ landmark curriculum and music. In this way, the songs will give parents and children a concrete way to practice important pro-social skills together. 

The announcement was greeted enthusiastically throughout the media world, from Brian Williams on the NBC Nightly News to Variety and TV Guide and major newspapers across the country.

You can read more about the program as reported by Rob Owen, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's television critic, who interviewed Fred Rogers Company COO and Executive Producer Kevin Morrison. Specifics for the series are currently under wraps. We’ll be sure to update you as more information becomes available.