Fred Rogers Productions, the award-winning children’s entertainment company behind the well-loved, Emmy winning PBS KIDS series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Odd Squad, Peg + Cat and new hit Donkey Hodie, has been awarded a $2.7 million multi-year funding grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for Alma’s Way, which launched on 4 October on PBS KIDS. The grant covers a broad range of production, promotional and educational engagement activities for the show, created by actor/writer Sonia Manzano.
Aimed at viewers ages four to six years, Alma’s Way follows six-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl, who lives in the Bronx with her parents, Abuelo, and younger brother, Junior, as well as a diverse group of close-knit and loving friends, family, and community members. Each episode models self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and empathy, while encouraging kids to generate and value their own ideas and questions. The series’ 40 half-hour episodes showcase different aspects of Latino culture through music, food, language, and more.
Fred Rogers Productions president and CEO Paul Siefken said, “CPB’s support has been instrumental in bringing Alma’s Way to viewers all across the country, the series is already deeply resonating with audiences as it helps young viewers to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of perspectives of others all while they experience the vibrant world of the Bronx.”
CPB SVP of education and children’s content Debra Sanchez said, “Fred Rogers was a pioneer in using public television to educate young children and help empower them to solve problems. Alma’s Way honours Fred’s legacy of inclusiveness by featuring diversity at all levels of production and is a wonderful continuation of his work. We’re excited to support this work from Sonia Manzano, another pioneer who has played such an important role in the history of children’s content on public media.”
Alma’s Way is created by Sonia Manzano, best known to generations of kids and families as Maria on Sesame Street, and produced by Fred Rogers Productions. Ellen Doherty and Manzano are executive producers. Jorge Aguirre (Goldie & Bear) is head writer. The series is animated by Pipeline Studios (Elinor Wonders Why).