Skillsville: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

 

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==Broadcast==

==Broadcast==

The series premiered on March 3, 2025, on [[PBS Kids]].<ref name=”pbs” /><ref name=”skillsville”>{{cite web |title=Skillsville |url=https://pw.myersinfosys.com/wosu/airlist/34.4/958442/detail |website=pw.myersinfosys.com |access-date=January 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109230119/https://pw.myersinfosys.com/wosu/airlist/34.4/958442/detail |archive-date=January 9, 2025 |date=January 9, 2025}}</ref> After airing 18 episodes, PBS dropped the series on January 31, 2026. Beginning February 1, 2026, [[American Public Television]] began national distribution to local public television stations, and episodes were released on YouTube.

The series premiered on March 3, 2025, on [[PBS Kids]].<ref name=”pbs” /><ref name=”skillsville”>{{cite web |title=Skillsville |url=https://pw.myersinfosys.com/wosu/airlist/34.4/958442/detail |website=pw.myersinfosys.com |access-date=January 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250109230119/https://pw.myersinfosys.com/wosu/airlist/34.4/958442/detail |archive-date=January 9, 2025 |date=January 9, 2025}}</ref> After airing 18 episodes, PBS dropped the series on January 31, 2026. Beginning February 1, 2026, [[American Public Television]] began national distribution to local public television stations, and episodes were released on YouTube.

==Cancellation==

==Cancellation==

American–Canadian animated television series

Skillsville
Created by Christine Ferraro
Carol-Lynn Parente
Eric Peterson
Directed by Chris Fazio
Creative director Eric Peterson
Voices of Jessy Yates
Nissae Isen
Elishia Perosa
Jamie Watson
Cory Doran
Morrissa Nicole
Ragini Kapil
Scott Gorman
Katie Griffin
Dwain Murphy
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of episodes 18
Executive producers Carol-Lynn Parente
Christine Ferraro
Eric Peterson
Momo Hayakawa
Production companies Twin Cities PBS[1][2]
Sphere Media[3]
Network PBS Kids
Release March 3 (2025-03-03) –
December 11, 2025 (2025-12-11)

Skillsville is an American educational animated children’s TV 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 Media.[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]

The series centers around a racially-diverse trio of children: Cora, Dev and Rae, who have everyday thoughts and ideas about future careers. Realizing they can experience those in Skillsville, they touch a truncated octahedron-shaped toy and are transported into Skillsville, a virtual world in which they take on their in-game personas (ParCora, Devosaurus, and Racer Rae) and try to work in various occupations to provide services for characters called Beeples. When the children have a problem, they pause to give themselves time to come up with a solution, then unpause to implement the solution. At the end of every episode, they say goodbye to Scout (who responds with “Later, gamers!”) and leave the game.

  • Rae (also known as Racer Rae, voiced by Jessy Yates) is a disabled white girl who does not walk or run around, but uses a wheelchair.
  • Cora (also known as ParCora, voiced by Nissae Isen) is an African-American girl.
  • Dev (also known as Devosaurus, voiced by Elishia Perosa) is an Indian boy who dons a virtual dinosaur costume when he plays Skillsville with Rae and Cora.
  • Camille (also known as Mrs. Walker and Camille-4-Real, voiced by Morissa Nicole) is Cora’s mother who works as a Skillsville operator, having created the game herself.
  • Scout (voiced by Cory Doran) is a character in the Skillsville game who resembles an anthropomorphic lavender dog with the wings and antennae of a dragonfly. He guides Rae, Cora, and Dev through their adventures.
  • Beeples (voiced by Cory Doran) are the NPC residents of Skillsville.
  • Evan and Annie (voiced by Scott Gorman and Katie Griffin) are Rae’s parents.
  • Nani (voiced by Ragini Kapil) is Dev’s grandmother.
  • Cedric Walker (voiced by Dwain Murphy) is Cora’s father.

Additionally, there is an unnamed announcer (voiced by Jamie Watson) who announces when missions are assigned and completed. Their main appearance is through a set of soundbars.

The series premiered on March 3, 2025, on PBS Kids.[1][12] After airing 18 episodes, PBS dropped the series on January 31, 2026. Beginning February 1, 2026, American Public Television began national distribution to local public television stations,[13] and episodes were released on YouTube.[14]

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]

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.[17] 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.[18]

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]

Skillsville won a Bronze Telly Award in Children’s Television for its “Air Traffic Controller” episode.[19]

  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 (March 7, 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 May 25, 2025.
  11. ^ “About Skillsville PBS KIDS Shows”. PBS KIDS for Parents. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  12. ^ “Skillsville”. pw.myersinfosys.com. January 9, 2025. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  13. ^ “SKILLSVILLE American Public Television”. APTonline.org. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  14. ^ “Instagram”. www.instagram.com. January 29, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026. On February 1st, the episodes on our YouTube channel will be ones that have already aired. A few new episodes will be coming after that!
  15. ^ Wyllie, Julian (May 13, 2025). “TPT furloughs staff working on ‘Skillsville,’ a Ready To Learn–funded program”. Current. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  16. ^ Hayakawa, Momoko (May 2025). “#skillsville Momo Hayakawa”. www.linkedin.com. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  17. ^ “Twin Cities PBS’ Skillsville Innovation Program Receives Additional Funds from the Department of Education”. Twin Cities PBS. October 19, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  18. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (January 29, 2021). “Twin Cities PBS Hits Start on Multiplatform Property ‘Mashopolis’. Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  19. ^ “Skillsville” Wins Bronze Telly! By Skillsville Facebook”. Facebook. May 20, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 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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