The immortal words ‘Hey you guys!’ will be shouted once again as Sesame Workshop throws the switch on an all-new version of classic kids’ show The Electric Company. Production begins today, May 13th, on the streets of New York City and in a studio in Newark, New Jersey. Featuring narrative storylines music videos, sketch comedy, animation and short films, the entertaining and educational show for kids 6-9 receives funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Department of Education.
The new version of The Electric Company is a multi-media, multi-platform literacy campaign aimed at reducing the literacy gap between low- and middle-income families and promoting the notion that reading is cool. The show’s cast is a group of do-gooders who keep the neighborhood safe with their literacy super powers, and solve problems created by a group called ‘The Pranksters.’
‘The literacy crisis today is as pervasive and alarming as it was in 1971 when we created the first version of The Electric Company,’ says Scott Cameron, director of education and research for Sesame Workshop. ‘We know that if struggling readers don’t get the literacy help they need by the end of second grade, they are in danger of never catching up.’
Tony Award-nominated writer Willie Reale (A Year With Frog and Toad) leads The Electric Company writing team and has brought in other scribes including the Cox Brothers (Blades of Glory) and Jerome Hairston (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) to create 26 half-hour episodes.
Weekly installments of The Electric Company are slated to air nationally starting in January of 2009 on PBS KIDS, and will be supplemented with an interactive online environment and community-based outreach activities taking place in 20 cities across the country. The multi-platform efforts will focus initially on TV, outreach and broadband, but will extend over time to include books and other print materials, portable media and handheld and console video games.
