Scholastic Entertainment Launches Animated TV Series ‘The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel’.

Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Entertainment, a division of Scholastic, Inc., announced a new animated children’s series, The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel, which will be at the core of a children’s multi-media initiative. The series is set for broadcast on PBS KIDS in the fall of 2004.

Scholastic Entertainment has developed the series and its overall initiative as a result of winning the largest single grant ever given by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to develop a children’s multi-media project. This grant, combined with the “All America’s Kids Multi-Media Programming Initiative” grant from PBS with crucial monies provided by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), brings the total funding for The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel initiative to $14 million.

The series, which is based on an original concept by Ms. Forte, will be designed to entertain and educate all children, to promote cultural diversity and encourage English language acquisition, particularly among Hispanics. Equally important, the initiative will address the growing need in the U.S. for positive media representations of Hispanic children, one of the fastest-growing population segments and currently underserved due to a lack of children’s television programming which reflects their life experiences. The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel will be available on PBS with a second audio track in Spanish (SAP).

“Reaching, educating and entertaining children is part of Scholastic’s DNA,” said Ms. Forte. “In the same way The Magic School Bus and Clifford entertain and help children with science and reading, The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel will be a series all children will delight in, and at the same time, prepare at-risk children as they begin their formal school experience. And, because research shows that the disparities between Latino students and others begin as early as kindergarten and remain through age 17, we believe the goals and the timing of The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel are
critical.”

Robert T. Coonrod, President and CEO of CPB, said, “Service to underserved audiences, service to children, and education are at the heart of public broadcasting’s mission. CPB is delighted to help bring this exciting project to public television.”

John F. Wilson, PBS co-chief program executive, added: “This program, with its strong outreach initiatives, and targeting of underserved audiences, is a perfect fit for the PBS KIDS lineup. PBS and our local stations are anticipating a very positive response to this fun, innovative and educational series.”

The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel, a daily strip, will comprise a full 65 half hours of animated programming. The completely original series will be an educational situation comedy for six- to eight-year-olds and will be designed to engage adults as well as children.

The series will chronicle the adventures of 10-year-old Latino twins, Maya and Miguel Santos, as they figure out how to leave their stamp on the vibrant world around them. Featuring their family, relatives and diverse neighborhood friends, The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel will reflect back to viewers the cultural mosaic that our country’s neighborhoods have become.

The comedy revolves around Maya’s well-intended meddling in her family’s and friend’s lives, ultimately leading her to create new quandaries to fix. While every episode will take humorous twists and turns, the underlying message is the importance of doing good for the family and community, and the philosophy that shared happiness is greater than personal gain.