(Image credit: Courtesy of ODD SQUAD (C) 2015 The Fred Rogers Company.)
October is “Odd-tober” on PBS KIDS, with special programming and digital content all month long
Arlington, VA, September 15, 2015 – This October is “Odd-tober” on PBS KIDS, with an all-new ODD SQUAD one-hour special and the return of Halloween-themed family favorites from various series. Related games, clips and full episodes will also be available on PBS KIDS digital platforms throughout the month.
“October is an especially exciting time for children, and PBS KIDS is proud to offer engaging media content across platforms throughout the month,” said Lesli Rotenberg, General Manager, Children’s Media, PBS. “From triumphing over odd villains with Olive and Otto in ODD SQUAD to dressing up in costumes with Daniel Tiger and friends, kids will have the chance to join their favorite PBS KIDS characters on adventures all ‘Odd-tober’ long — and explore math, problem-solving and teamwork along the way.”
On Monday, October 5, PBS KIDS will premiere “ODD SQUAD: Against the Odds,” an all-new one-hour special from PBS KIDS’ newest hit series. “Against the Odds” will include five 11-minute stories with Olive, Otto and the rest of the gang as they solve the community’s strange problems (descriptions follow). The special will repeat throughout the week of October 5 and will be available free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App. ODD SQUAD, a live-action series from The Fred Rogers Company that premiered on PBS KIDS last year, is designed to help kids ages 5-8 build math, problem-solving and collaboration skills.
“Odd-tober” will continue on PBS KIDS throughout the week of October 25-31 with the return of family Halloween favorites, including the hit one-hour special “CURIOUS GEORGE: A Halloween Boo Fest.” Favorite episodes from PBS KIDS series such as DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, WILD KRATTS, PEG + CAT and DINOSAUR TRAIN will also air throughout the week (a full listing of episodes follows). Families will be able to play Halloween games and stream the Halloween-themed episodes free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App.
To complement the Halloween fun, PBS Distribution recently released three new Halloween-themed DVDs from CAILLOU, PEG + CAT and WORDWORLD. From carving a jack-o’-lantern with Caillou to going on a trick-or-treating adventure with Peg and Cat, these DVDs include laugh-out-loud stories full of Halloween excitement. The new DVDs are “CAILLOU: CAILLOU’S HALLOWEEN,” “PEG + CAT: A TOTALLY AWESOME HALLOWEEN” and “WORDWORLD: HALLOWEEN FUN.” Each DVD has an SRP of $6.99.
“ODD SQUAD: Against the Odds” – premieres Monday, October 5 (check local listings)
Five all-new 11-minute stories are packed into a super special hour:
“Undercover Olive” (Parts 1 and 2): In this half-hour episode, Olive goes undercover in a high-stakes “Rock, Paper, Scissors” game.
“The Curious Case of Pirate-itis”: Otto and Oscar try to stop Olive from turning into a pirate.
“Not So Splash”: Olive and Otto must figure out why parts of the town are turning snowy and cold — in the middle of summer.
“By the Book”: Olive and Otto interrogate two suspects to figure out which one is innocent and which one is guilty.
Halloween Programming – airs October 25-31
Check local listings for airdates and times.
ARTHUR
“Hick or Treat/ Mr. Alwaysright”
“Tales of Grotesquely Grim Bunny/ Pet Projects”
CAILLOU
“Caillou Loves the Fall”
“Fall Is in the Air”
THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!
“Trick or Treat/ King Cecil the Seahorse”
“Aye Aye!/ Trick or Treat”
CURIOUS GEORGE
“CURIOUS GEORGE: A Halloween Boo Fest”
“Night of the Weiner Dog/ Animal Trackers”
DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD
“Katerina’s Costumes/ Dress up Day”
DINOSAUR TRAIN
“Haunted Roundhouse/ Big Pond Pumpkin Patch”
“One Big Frog/ Caving with Vlad”
“Night Train/ Fossil Fred”
MARTHA SPEAKS
“Martha Gets Spooked/ Martha Changes Her Luck”
“Martha: Deadline Doggie/ It’s the Giant Pumpkin, Martha”
“TD’s Magic/ Scaredy Cat”
PEG + CAT
“The Halloween Problem”
THOMAS & FRIENDS
“Tricks & Tales”
“Spooky Charms”
WILD KRATTS
“Secrets of the Spider’s Web”
“A Bat in the Brownies”
“Little Howler”
WORDGIRL
“Tobey’s Tricks and Treats/ Escape Wham”
Images, descriptions and other materials from all PBS KIDS series are available on PBS PressRoom.
ODD SQUAD and PEG + CAT are funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and 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.
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 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 to 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.
Contacts
Maria Vera, PBS; 703-739-3225; mvera@pbs.org
Caitlin Melnick, 360 Public Relations; 617-585-5775; cmelnick@360pr.com
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]
