Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: The Next Generation? That’s pretty much what’s happening here. A lot of people grew up with Mr. Rogers, his charm, and his incredibly slow process of putting on his shoes. The man behind the show, Fred Rogers, died in 2003, but according to PBS that doesn’t mean his legacy can’t live on. In fact, in a way they’re rebooting the series with a new animated show called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
The show will star the son of the original Daniel Tiger, as well as the progeny of a number of the other characters from the original show’s “Neighborhood of Make-Believe,” which is actually kind of heartwarming, if you think about it. A nod to all the children who grew up with Mr. Rogers and have kids of their own now. Little Daniel will be four years old, and according to Chief Operating Officer of the Fred Rogers Company and executive producer of the show, Kevin Morrison, the aim will be the same as the original: to instill a sense of curiosity in young viewers about the world around them.
Morrison had this to say about the program, and what Mr. Rogers’ universe has done for kids in the past:
The huge thing [Rogers] had which nobody else had in those literacy and numeracy and science programs was an understanding of how people relate to other people, understanding emotions
Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President of Children’s Media at PBS, also had this to say:
“Fred Rogers revolutionized children’s media with ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ and ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood’ continues on this path of innovation, helping the next generation of young children learn and grow in new ways.”
We’re a little bit out of the age bracket this show is targeted for, but we hope there are kids out there who will connect with this the same way we connected with the original Mr. Rogers.
(CNN via I Heart Chaos)
