PBS KIDS has greenlit the animated series Skillsville. Produced by Twin Cities PBS the show aims to help four- to eight-year-olds build personal and career skills with the help of video games. 

In each episode of the 2D-animated series, a trio of friends learn lessons while engaging with a video game. In the game world of Skillsville, the kids help manage a virtual city and learn new strategies for feeling, focusing, organizing, remembering and thinking differently—all useful skills which they then employ to solve real-world dilemmas. 

PBS KIDS is launching the series in both English and Spanish on March 3. There will be 40 x 30-minute episodes, with each ep featuring two 11-minute stories. Sphere Media Productions is responsible for the animation work.

The show’s goal is to prepare kids “for a future job market that doesn’t even exist yet,” says co-creator and executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente (Hero Elementary). Skillsville reflects PBS KIDS’ interest in career awareness and skill-building programming, tapping into video games to make the learning fun. 

“In games, you have to listen to instructions, remember key details, focus on goals and adapt when things don’t go as planned,” says Parente. “[In Skillsville], kids engage with careers in a fun, game-like world, and along the way, they’re building critical skills that will help them succeed in school, work and life.”

The broadcaster has seen how important the gaming medium can be when used as a tool to engage kids and support learning, says SVP and GM Sara DeWitt.

The property also stands out because it can easily translate into actual video games aimed at extending kids’ learning even further, teaching kids valuable skills that can be translated into their personal and professional lives as they grow up, she adds. To that end, PBS KIDS is developing four upcoming games based on Skillsville for the broadcaster’s website and PBS KIDS Games app. 

“This innovative new series seamlessly integrates gaming into the episodes, in addition to offering new standalone games, making the multiplatform experience for kids consistent and interesting,” says DeWitt. 

Skillsville promo image, courtesy of PBS KIDS.

The show’s funding comes from the US Department of Education’s Ready to Learn Grant for programming that builds kids’ workplace readiness. 

In other PBS KIDS news, the pubcaster has another new series premiering this spring: Mystery League from Arkansas PBS, a live-action series for five- to eight-year-olds debuts on March 21. It focuses on a trio of fifth-grade detectives who solve mysteries in their small town while learning lessons about civics, economics and leadership. Additionally, new episodes of current shows Lyla in the Loop, Pinkalicious & Peterrific and Work it Out Wombats are also coming in February and March.