New ARTHUR Episode Guest Stars Idina Menzel; Additional New Episodes of ARTHUR, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and PEG + CAT Also Premiere the Week of September 7
Watertown, NY August 26, 2015 – In honor of National Preparedness Month, WPBS-DT will premiere new storm-themed episodes of DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and ARTHUR. DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHHOD will air on Tuesday, September 8 at 9am and ARTHUR will air Wednesday, September 9 at 7am. Both will offer a suite of new PBS KIDS digital resources to help families in challenging times. Additional all-new episodes of PBS KIDS series ARTHUR, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and PEG + CAT will also roll out on WPBS-TV beginning September 7 as part of a special premiere week.
“WPBS-TV is committed to using the power of media to help all children learn and grow, and supporting them, as well as their parents and caregivers, is an important part of that,” Lynn Brown, General Manager, WPBS-TV. “We know that our Northern New York and Eastern Ontario parents can find it challenging to talk to their children about natural disasters or other topics that can be frightening to kids, which is why WPBS-TV is proud to offer families useful tools for coping with challenges like these.”
DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, a Fred Rogers Company production for preschool-age kids, and ARTHUR, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series for kids ages 4-8 based on the books by Marc Brown and produced by WGBH, help kids build their social-emotional skills. In these two special new episodes of ARTHUR and DANIEL TIGER’S NEGHBORHOOD, family favorite characters experience big storms and learn how to prepare, while also handling difficult situations effectively and safely. Parent and educator materials, tip sheets and videos from both series will also be available at pbskids.org/learn to help families cope when scary things happen.
In “A Storm in the Neighborhood / After the Neighborhood Storm,” Daniel Tiger and his friends learn important strategies to use during emergencies. And ARTHUR’s two-part “Shelter From the Storm” episode features special guest star Idina Menzel as a caring therapist named Dr. Paula, who talks to Brain about his worries after the storm and provides him with helpful strategies for coping with anxiety. “It’s such an honor to have teamed up with ARTHUR, particularly on a story as meaningful as this one,” said Menzel. “I hope that this episode can help parents and kids when upsetting events occur in the world and in their communities.”
In addition to the storm-themed episodes and digital resources, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and ARTHUR will premiere new episodes all week long beginning September 7 as part of a special premiere week on WPBS-TV. New episodes of PEG + CAT, the Emmy Award-winning series that inspires kids to solve problems using math as a key strategy, will also debut that week (episode descriptions from both series follow). Created by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson and produced by The Fred Rogers Company, PEG + CAT is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and by the U.S. Department of Education through the Ready To Learn Initiative, which supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families. DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD is also funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
About WPBS-TV
WPBS-TV is a non-profit public television station serving approximately 650,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario. WPBS-TV’s mission is to educate, entertain and inform our two-nation audience through superior local and national content and media engagement in order to enhance the lives of those it serves. More information about WPBS is available at www.wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter and Facebook.
About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital platforms and community-based programs. Kidscreen- and Webby award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS also offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning. The PBS KIDS Video App is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Xbox One and Chromecast. For more information on specific PBS KIDS content supporting literacy, science, math and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter and Facebook.
About The Fred Rogers Company
The company was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional and behavioral health and supporting parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals in their work with children. The Fred Rogers Company continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media, and engaging new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly rated, award-winning children’s series include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat and Odd Squad. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org.
About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Curious George and more than a dozen other primetime, lifestyle and children’s series. WGBH also is a major supplier of programming for public radio and oversees Public Radio International (PRI). As a leader in educational multimedia for the classroom, WGBH supplies content to PBS LearningMedia, a national broadband service for teachers and students. WGBH also is a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors. More info at www.wgbh.org.
About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television and related online services.
About The Ready To Learn Initiative
The Ready To Learn Initiative is a cooperative agreement funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. It supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach and research on educational effectiveness.
The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]
