'And I said Hey!' What a wonderful kind of day to talk about kids television

PBS’ Arthur just began its 25th and final season. That's a good, long run for a TV show. But do kids still need the same things from children’s media that they did back in 1997? Or do we need new shows to match a new age?

What makes for a delightful, educational, and popular kids show?

To Val Thomas-Matson, the answer lies in brain development research.

"There is so much information out there about how to facilitate early learning best practices — things all of us as caring adults can do. So there's lots of research about how to give our kids the best start."

Thomas-Matson is the executive producer and creator of Look, Listen and Learn, an early learning children’s program based here in Seattle that’s focused on supporting the emotional well-being of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) families.

"Knowing that racial equity is an ingredient in good education — that is part of our success," Thomas-Matson said. "We have those lived experiences. We don't have to do a round about, we don't have to do a brain dump. We know what that is, we carry that in our DNA. And so that that's informed our show."

The other thing that makes for good children's TV, Matson said, is pretty simple: joy.

"We want to celebrate the brilliance of Black, Indigenous and people of color and our joy. Yes, we have lots of burdens we have overcome. We have woes. We have ills we're still dealing with. And in the midst of that, let's do it with joy and dignity and pride."