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Draft:Skillsville

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Skillsville
File:Skillsville logo.png
Genre
Created byChristine Ferraro
Carol-Lynn Parente
Eric Peterson
Directed byChris Fazio
Creative directorEric Peterson
Voices ofJessy Yates
Nissae Isen
Elishia Perosa
Jamie Watson
Cory Doran
Morrissa Nicole
Ragini Kapil
Scott Gorman
Katie Griffin
Dwain Murphy
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producersCarol-Lynn Parente
Christine Ferraro
Eric Peterson
Momo Hayakawa
Production companiesTwin Cities PBS[1][2]
Sphere Animation [3]
Original release
NetworkPBS Kids
ReleaseMarch 3, 2025 –
present

Skillsville is a Canadian-American animated children’s television series that premiered on March 3, 2025 on PBS Kids with funding from the United States Department of Education.[4] The series is produced by Twin Cities PBS (TPT) and Sphere Animation.[5][6][7][8][9]

The show is set in a gaming environment and is designed to help children develop executive function skills and learn about careers.[10][11]

Premise

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The series centers around three children: Cora, Dev and Rae, who are transported into Skillsville, a virtual world in which they try to work in various occupations to provide services for characters called Beeples. Every episode begins with the three children at the apartment launching Skillsville, where they take on their in-game personas where the game voiceover man says their names (Parcora, Devosaurus, and Racer Rae) and ends with "Welcome to Skillsville", and meet Scout, a dog-like character with fly-like wings. When the children have a problem, they pause to give themselves time to come up with a solution, then unpause to implement that solution in order to complete the tasks at hand. At the end of every episode, they say "Bye Scout, See you next time" and then Scout says "Later Gamers", and they come back to the apartment.

Characters

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Main

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  • Rae (also known as Racer Rae, voiced by Jessy Yates) is a girl who does not walk or run around, but uses a wheelchair.
  • Cora (also known as Parcora, voiced by Nissae Isen) is one of the three main characters in the series.
  • Dev (also known as Devosaurus, voiced by Elishia Perosa) is a boy who dons a virtual dinosaur costume when he plays Skillsville with Rae and Cora.
  • Camille (also known as Mrs. Walker, voiced by Morissa Nicole) is Cora’s mother who works as a Skillsville operator.

Recurring

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  • Scout (voiced by Cory Doran) is a character in Skillsville who appears to be an anthropomorphic lavender dog with the wings and antennae of a dragonfly and a blue collar alongside having a glowing orange nose.
  • Beeples (also voiced by Cory Doran) are the NPC residents of Skillsville that have no distinct personalities and do not actually speak but beep. Their concern is with whatever Rae, Cora, or Dev are doing in the game.
  • Evan (voiced by Scott Gorman) is Rae’s father.

Episodes

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Chef"UnknownN/AMarch 3, 2025 (2025-03-03)101N/A
"Air Traffic Controller"N/A
As a chef, Cora has to think differently about the ingredients she uses in the food she is preparing for the Beeples. / Dev takes on the job of an air traffic controller at the Paper Plane Airport where he is faced with distractions.
2"Train Engineer"UnknownN/AMarch 4, 2025 (2025-03-04)102N/A
"Paleontologist"N/A
As a train engineer, Rae tries to remember which buttons to push to make the train move in order to get the Beeples to Marshmallow Mountain Station. / As a paleontologist, Dev needs to stay organized at the dig site in order to find all the dinosaur bones.
3"Farmer"UnknownN/AMarch 5, 2025 (2025-03-05)103N/A
"Mail Carrier"N/A
As a farmer, Dev needs to get organized by asking the Beeples questions about harvesting crops. / As a mail carrier, Rae needs to get organized in order to deliver mail to the Beeples in time to complete the game challenge.
4"Game Tester"UnknownN/AMarch 6, 2025 (2025-03-06)104N/A
"Interior Designer"N/A
The kids offer to help Cora's mom by becoming game testers and figuring out how to remember all of the bugs in the game. / Rae has to listen to what the Beeples want as she takes on the role of an interior designer.
5"Sound Effects Artist"UnknownN/AMarch 7, 2025 (2025-03-07)105N/A
"City Planner"N/A
As a sound effects artist, Dev learns that he will need to think differently in order to figure out how to make all the sounds he needs for a movie. / Cora becomes a city planner to create a new area of Skillsville for everyone to enjoy.
6"Laundromat Manager"UnknownN/AMarch 10, 2025 (2025-03-10)106N/A
"Inventor"N/A
Dev needs to stay organized as a laundromat manager to get the Beeples' team jerseys clean for the big game. / As an inventor, Rae comes up with an easier way for the Beeples to get to the top of Mount Froyo so they can go sledding all day long.
7"Firefighter"UnknownN/AMarch 11, 2025 (2025-03-11)107N/A
"Bank Teller"N/A
As a firefighter, Rae uses a strategy to remain calm as she helps save the farm with Dev, Cora, and Scout. / As a bank teller, Cora needs to stay focused when helping the Beeples with depositing and withdrawing from their accounts.
8"Race Car Driver"UnknownN/AMarch 12, 2025 (2025-03-12)108N/A
"Crane Operator"N/A
Race car driver Rae looks to stay focused in order to win the race, with the help of Scout, Dev, and Cora as members of her pit crew. / Crane operator Dev uses a strategy to feel calm so he can organize deliveries at the Skillsville warehouse.
9"Coach"UnknownN/AMarch 13, 2025 (2025-03-13)109N/A
"Salesperson"N/A
As a coach, Cora helps the Beeples train for a track and field competition in Skillsville. / As a toy store salesperson, Dev finds a way to feel calm so he can help the Beeples find the toys that they want.
10"Entrepreneur"UnknownN/AMarch 14, 2025 (2025-03-14)110N/A
"Hairstylist"N/A
Cora opens a lemonade stand and makes a plan with Dev and Rae to grow her business. / As a hairstylist, Rae focuses on giving her customers the haircuts and colors they want.
11"TBA"TBDN/A2025 (2025)111TBD
"TBA"N/A
TBA TBA
12"TBA"TBDN/A2025 (2025)112TBD
"TBA"N/A
TBA TBA
13"TBA"TBDN/A2025 (2025)113TBD
"TBA"N/A
TBA TBA
14"TBA"TBDN/A2025 (2025)114TBD
"TBA"N/A
TBA TBA
15"TBA"TBDN/A2025 (2025)115TBD
"TBA"N/A
TBA TBA

Multimedia programs

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In addition to the television series, the Skillsville "Innovation Program" includes summer camps and "pop up events" for community engagement with children and their families.[12] These hands-on activities focus on the same life skills and career exploration topics from the show with the goal of helping children succeed in their future careers.[13]

Games

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As part of the fully immersive program, four Skillsville games were planned to be released on the PBS Kids website, as well as the PBS Kids Games app.[1]

  1. Sound It Out
  2. TBA
  3. TBA
  4. TBA

Broadcast

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The series premiered on March 3, 2025, on PBS Kids.[1][14]

Cancellation

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Two months following the broadcast premiere, production was abruptly halted in May 2025 due to the termination of the Ready To Learn grant, which had been providing major financial support (upwards of $4.6 million) for the development of the series since 2020.[15] Skillsville project director, Momoko Hayakawa, indicated 22 episodes were still in production and nearing completion when the TPT staff was furloughed.[16] The series had already released ten episodes on PBS Kids, which continue to air in reruns.

Recognitions

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Skillsville won a Bronze Telly Award in Children's Television for its "Air Traffic Controller" episode.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "New Animated PBS KIDS Series, SKILLSVILLE, Harnesses Gaming to Open a World of Possibilities". About PBS - Main. February 6, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  2. ^ "Twin Cities PBS' Skillsville Innovation Program Receives Additional Funds from the Department of Education". Twin Cities PBS. October 19, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "Skillsville". Sphere Media Productions. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (February 6, 2025). "PBS KIDS Powers Up with Game-Themed 'Skillsville' Animated Series". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. ^ "Twin Cities PBS lines up career prep series". Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Department of Education Funds TPT's New Project Mashopolis". Twin Cities Public Television. September 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Skillsville". Sphere Media Productions. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "TWIN CITIES PBS' SKILLSVILLE INNOVATION PROGRAM RECEIVES ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION". Twin Cities PBS. October 19, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  9. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (February 6, 2025). "PBS KIDS Powers Up with Game-Themed 'Skillsville' Animated Series". Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Starks, Tiara (7 March 2025). "Skillsville EP and PBS KIDS' VP of Content discuss new series, video games, and skill-building in the digital age". www.msn.com. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  11. ^ "About Skillsville PBS KIDS Shows". PBS KIDS for Parents. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Twin Cities PBS' Skillsville Innovation Program Receives Additional Funds from the Department of Education". Twin Cities PBS. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  13. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (29 January 2021). "Twin Cities PBS Hits Start on Multiplatform Property 'Mashopolis'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Skillsville". pw.myersinfosys.com. 9 January 2025. Archived from the original on 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  15. ^ Wyllie, Julian (13 May 2025). "TPT furloughs staff working on 'Skillsville,' a Ready To Learn–funded program". Current. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  16. ^ Hayakawa, Momoko (May 2025). "#skillsville Momo Hayakawa". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  17. ^ ""Skillsville" Wins Bronze Telly! By Skillsville Facebook". Facebook. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025. We're proud to share that TPT - Twin Cities PBS's "Skillsville" is a Telly Awards winner in the Children's Television category!
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