Season one of the new The Electric Company will feature comedy segments with Live With Regis & Kelly co-host Kelly Ripa, Academy Award winning actress, Whoopi Goldberg, kid comedian and actor, Kyle Massey, former NFL superstar and Today Show correspondent Tiki Barber, rapper Common and 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer; music videos with Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean and hip-hop superstar Sean Kingston; and original songs from singer/songwriter Ne-Yo, Saturday Night Live's Jimmy Fallon, rocker Pete Wentz and R&B star Mario.
Two years ago, Executive Producer, Karen Fowler, envisioned a multimedia and outreach project that would create a 360 degree experience for viewers. She then gathered an abundance of talent to generate an appealing innovative program.
"The opportunity to redevelop this beloved brand has been an honor and a labor of love," comments Fowler. "Translating the original genius of The Electric Company to appeal to today's audience has birthed a unique project that has attracted some of the industry's top talent. This generation's The Electric Company is naturally conceived to let children experience it on any media platform while providing support for parents and teachers online and in outreach materials."
Co-Executive Producer and Head Writer, Willie Reale, MacArthur Fellow and Tony and Academy Award nominee, (A Year With Frog and Toad, Dreamgirls) leads The Electric Company writing team and has brought in other outstanding writers including the Cox Brothers (Blades of Glory), Deirdre O'Connor (Hero, Penicillin, White Jesus) and Jerome Hairston (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, am Sunday) to create 35 half-hour episodes. To establish a musical team that will connect with the audience, Fowler tapped some of the creative forces behind Broadway's Tony Award winning hip-hop, dance musical, In the Heights. Chris Jackson ("Benny"), Thomas Kail (Director), and Bill Sherman (Arranger/Orchestrator) are The Electric Company's musical directors and bring urban beats and rhythmic tunes to the literacy objectives of the program.
In addition to recognizing the power of media, Sesame Workshop has always extended its educational content beyond television. The goal of The Electric Company outreach program is to service at-risk first-to-third graders through community partnerships while enriching their literacy skills, self-expression and motivation. The thoughtfully designed outreach kit will be available for teachers to use as supplementary classroom materials, for out-of-school time and community programs. The outreach efforts will be supported through local partnerships with several national organizations including: The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Urban Libraries Council, National Council of La Raza, National Urban League and others.
The Electric Company outreach program will include:
The Electric Company Outreach Kit - A DVD with episode content, a CD with downloadable activity sheets and a printed guide with instructions and games.
The Electric Company Magazine - A literacy publication that will contain activities, interviews, character and comic elements as well as trading cards to foster learning and self-expression.
The Electric Company Circuit Tour - Community outreach events organized in at-risk markets that will include hands-on literacy activities and an interactive The Electric Company stage show.
The Electric Company Outreach Orientation - Programs targeting PBS member station outreach staff with a train-the-instructor format for consistent community usage.
The new Web site at pbskidsgo.org/electriccompany invites kids to experience the world of The Electric Company within an interactive environment. Launching in conjunction with the television program, the Web site blends elements of popular kid-friendly internet applications that encourage kids to create, share, and rate each others' video creations and decorate their own profile pages. Kids will also be able to play educational games, based on the curriculum featured in each episode, and win points in support of their favorite The Electric Company characters. The site will stream full episodes that will have aired the day before on TV, Web exclusive behind the scenes segments, cast interviews, outtakes, bloopers and celebrity clips. In addition, extensive downloadable outreach materials will be available to support the TV series and supplement the curriculum that parents, caregivers and teachers will be encouraged to use.
The Electric Company is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national literacy initiative focused on using public media to improve the reading skills for children ages two to eight. PBS KIDS Raising Readers is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. As the single largest informal educator of young children, local Sesame Street programs produced in countries as diverse as South Africa, Bangladesh and India are making a difference in over 120 nations. Using proprietary research to create engaging and enriching content, Sesame Workshop produces programs such as Dragon Tales and Pinky Dinky Doo. In addition, multimedia needs-driven initiatives provide families tools for addressing such issues as children's health, military deployment and emergency preparedness. As a nonprofit, product proceeds and philanthropic donations support Sesame Workshop's educational research and creative content for children around the world. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.
PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offers all children - from every walk of life - the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and outreach content. Like its programming counterpart, PBS resources - including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media and technology advancements as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Guiding children towards empowerment for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 356 public television stations, serving more than 65 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.
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 1000 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 on-line services.
