PBS Kids announced today a new live-action math series, Odd Squad, for children 5 to 8 years old. The latest addition to the schedule was revealed at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.
Available on-air and as interactive online games, the program features youngsters Olive and Otto as part of the Odd Squad, an agency that saves its town from bothersome math-related problems. The show was created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman, who both worked on The Electric Company, and is produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and the Fred Rogers Company. It’s funded by CPB and a Ready to Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Also at the Press Tour, PBS said it will again work with AOL on six more one-hour documentaries as part of its Makers: Women Who Make America initiative. The films, scheduled to air in June and August, build on the multiplatform work of filmmaker Dyllan McGee that launched in 2012. The Makers website now houses more than 200 interviews with groundbreaking women in politics, science, education and entertainment.
At its closing session Wednesday, PBS will host a panel discussion on the Makers project that will include comedian Kathy Griffin, former CIA agent Valerie Plame and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.