PBS Kids announced the coming arrival of two new series. This fall, the star of the classic series Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman returns in The Ruff Ruffman Show, an all-new short-form animated digital series designed to help kids ages 4-8 learn core science concepts through videos, game-play and hands-on activities. PBS Kids also announced the new animated series Luna Around the World. This new multi-platform series will debut this fall on all GPB platforms. With a social studies curriculum, Luna Around the World will encourage kids ages 4-7 to explore and appreciate cultures from all over the world, and build global citizenship and social skills. 

The Ruff Ruffman Show

All 20 videos of The Ruff Ruffman Show will be available September 28 on digital platforms, including the free GPB Kids Now App and gpbkids.org. The videos will roll out on the PBS Kids YouTube channel starting on September 28, and segments from the series will air on the new PBS Kids 24/7 channel and live stream this fall. 

Related games will be available on the free PBS Kids Games App and pbskids.org, and a Ruff Ruffman app will be available on a variety of tablet and mobile devices. One of the Ruff Ruffman games, Fish Force, will offer hundreds of possible levels and features that can be tailored to the child, based on performance and behavior. This is the first of many new adaptive games for young children that PBS Kids will roll out in the coming months. 

"At PBS Kids, we’re always looking for ways to innovate across platforms through new formats and interactive content to meet the needs of today’s kids," said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS, "We’re excited to offer The Ruff Ruffman Show through digital shorts to introduce children to a variety of science concepts that allow them to learn from challenges and failure. Ruff is a character kids can relate to, modeling skills they can apply to their own daily curiosities." 

Luna Around the World

Luna Around the World follows the adventures of three friends – Leo, a wombat from Australia; Carmen, a butterfly from Mexico; and Andy, a frog from the U.S. – as they traverse the globe with their parents’ traveling performance troupe, “Circo Fabuloso.” At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the moon guides the trio as they experience the local language, music and daily life. The gang’s adventures take them across continents – from London to Cairo to Beijing – where they explore the food, architecture and other features that make each region unique.

Luna Around the World brings an innovative approach to social studies for young viewers. The series takes kids on an informative and imaginative exploration of global culture to make connections between communities all over the world, integrating concepts of anthropology, history, ecology, geography, sociology and economics. 

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Along with the television series, Luna Around the World will offer digital content for kids, parents and teachers, debuting in fall 2018. Luna Around the World games will be available at pbskids.org and on the free PBS Kids Games App, along with clips and full episodes streaming across GPB Kids’ video platforms, including the free GPB Kids Now App. A Luna Around the World app will also launch after the series’ debut. Parent resources, including tips and hands-on activities to extend the learning at home, will be available on the PBS Parents site, and PBS LearningMedia will offer classroom-ready materials for teachers, including video excerpts, games, teaching tips and printable activities.

Each episode of Luna Around the World will include two 11-minute stories as well as interstitial content – including live-action segments about arts and cultures, and animated folk tales and songs. The series is currently in production of 38 half-hour episodes and a one-hour special.