The Electric Company Kicks off a Brand-New Season January 25th

Season 2 of the top-rated PBS KIDS GO! show incorporates feedback from its TV and Web viewers to deliver an even better literacy adventure

The Electric Company, a unique and magnetic force on television and the Web, is launching a brand-new season of 12 half-hour episodes beginning January 25, 2010, and can be seen five days a week on PBS KIDS GO!

The show, which is designed to combat the literacy crisis facing America’s 6- to 9-year-olds, was one of the top shows on PBS KIDS GO! last season. Its charming, one-of-a-kind brand of fun, music, and humor, is designed to reduce the literacy gap between low- and middle-income families by advancing the idea that ‘reading is cool.’

Season 2 of The Electric Company begins with a special three-episode recurring role by teen comedian and Cory in the House star, Kyle Massey, playing Keith’s cousin, PJ. Then, following the launch week, new episodes will air each Friday. This reinvented version of The Electric Company is designed to appeal to today’s kids with fresh animation, music videos, and exciting narrative storylines. Other celebrities turning on the power this season include NBA superstar Dwight Howard, Emmy Award-winning actor John Leguizamo, The View co-host Sherri Shephard, actor and rapper LL Cool J, actor Chris Massey, High School Musical star Monique Coleman, and comedian and The Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee.

“In Season 2, LL Cool J does a music video about punctuation marks,” reveals Karen Fowler, the show’s Executive Producer. “We also have a really funny piece with John Leguizamo and Shock about punctuation to reinforce this educational goal. In it, John asks his mom about punctuation marks. Each time he imitates his mom’s voice, he appears in a woman’s bathrobe with glasses and a wig. It was such a pleasure to work with both stars.”

RESEARCH AND FEEDBACK

Sesame Workshop prides itself on the research that goes into making shows like Sesame Street and The Electric Company as effective as possible. The producers of the show studied data and feedback from The Electric Company’s first season to shape the format and curricular goals of Season 2. Director of Education and Research Scott Cameron says, “When we did Season 1, we were figuring out a lot of things. From an educational perspective, we were covering a lot of different goals. For Season 2, we wanted to make the show more seamless. So, instead of three, each new episode will encompass two goals that are played out in commercial clusters. I think it lets the show breathe a little, and it allows kids to immerse themselves in the content.” 

Fowler adds, “We knew from The Electric Company website traffic that kids are viewing and replaying music videos, and that Shock’s beat-boxing segments have really resonated with kids. In Season 2’s episode ‘One Bad Apple,’ kids will see Shock become more of a core character who is integral to the narrative.”

AN EXPANDING WORLD

Chris Sullivan, who plays Shock, says his character is more three-dimensional in the second season.

“Who Shock is has changed as the show developed. I turned from a non-speaking Buster Keaton-type character into someone who uses words. Also, my character starts to branch out a little bit, as we see that Shock has a life outside of the diner—and friends too.”

“The difference between the first and second season is that we are now getting our arms wrapped around the show a little more,” Sullivan says. “The characters’ relationships are beginning to develop more organically as their worlds expand a little more.”

The Electric Company’s hugely successful Web site has had over 8 million site visits and over 21 million videos streamed^[1]. The website also recently won the 2009 Best in Class Interactive Media Award. In conjunction with the new season, a new feature has been unveiled: video Smash Ups.

“The Web site’s doing great,” says Fowler. “We recently launched the Smash Up application so kids can make their own videos and create their own tracks. We uploaded hundreds of clips and put them in a Smash Up tool so kids can rearrange them and basically create their own videos. Every time a kid watches a video to see if they want to put it in their Smash Up, they’re being exposed to vocabulary. We’re thrilled to find that kids are watching the videos, they’re playing tons of games, and they’re coming back—up to five times.”

Shock says connecting with those kids is the reason he loves his job.

“I love the opportunity to have an impact on kids’ minds and their creative expression,” says Sullivan. “6- to 9-year olds have very fertile minds, and it’s great to have such a direct influence on them.”

The Electric Company also reaches out to kids in the community through after-school programs and online. To date, over 20,000 curriculum based outreach kits and over 200,000 magazines have been distributed nationwide.  

Season 2 of The Electric Company is made possible by the generous support of Beaches Resorts and American Greetings. Both Beaches Resorts and American Greetings are longtime sponsors of Sesame Workshop programming and they continue to champion children’s education by sponsoring The Electric Company. 

Visit The Electric Company at:

www.pbskids.org/electriccompany

The Electric Company YouTube Channel

The Electric Company on Facebook