Skillsville: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

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{{short description|American–Canadian animated television series}}

{{short description|American–Canadian animated television series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox television

{{Infobox television

American–Canadian animated preschool science fiction comedy television series

Skillsville is an 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

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.

Characters

Main

• Rae (also known as Racer Rae, voiced by Jessy Yates) is a disabled 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. She is African-American.
• 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, and created the game.

Recurring

• 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.

Episodes

Broadcast

The series premiered on March 3, 2025, on PBS Kids.^[1][12]

Cancellation

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.^[13] Skillsville project director, Momoko Hayakawa, indicated 22 episodes were still in production and nearing completion when the TPT staff was furloughed.^[14] The series had already released ten episodes on PBS Kids, which continue to air in reruns; a further five episodes premiered in the summer.

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.^[15] 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.^[16]

Games

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. Flower Shop
3. TBA
4. TBA

Reception

Awards

Skillsville won a Bronze Telly Award in Children’s Television for its “Air Traffic Controller” episode.^[17]

References