Originally published at The Pluto Diaries in 2022.
Kid Stew is a South Florida PBS co-production created by famed author James Patterson, that describes itself as “for kids, by kids, and about kids”. Although the series is a PBS program, it is not aired on the PBS Kids channel in every market it is available in. In New York State, the series is aired twice a day on weekends on Thirteen's AllArts and once a week on Monday mornings on NYCLife, though the first two seasons can be found on the PBS website and through a little digging on the South Florida PBS YouTube channel. Clips of the third season can be found on the show’s official YouTube channel. Kids everywhere would surely benefit from a more widespread availability of the program on PBS stations, as most PBS programs of the last five years are either animated cartoons for young children or food and culture programs geared towards adults. Since the removal of the PBS Kids Go! block in 2013, there is no guarantee that any PBS Kids station will be airing shows geared towards preteens. Unfortunately, many kids over the age of eight believe that cartoons are for younger kids, despite many of these shows targeting ages eight to twelve. Kid Stew is for the missing demographic, teens and preteens, who have lost interest in kiddie shows and have turned to YouTube and TikTok creators without any educational value. Kid Stew provides them with a realistic, relatable educational experience that cannot be found on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel, and most certainly not on TikTok. Each episode features a combination of historical "time-travel" segments — typically in the cold open, musical parodies and dance videos, book reviews, and a Weird But True style news segment entitled Kid Stew Ewws. The show’s ensemble cast includes four boys and four girls around the ages of 10-14 in the first two seasons, and five boys and five girls in the current and third season—though the original kids remain the same. In addition to the preteen cast is their loyal dog sidekick, Ozzie the Australian Shepherd.
The show features a soundtrack of contemporary pop music from the last few decades. As the show is produced in collaboration with a PBS station, the sets are very minimal and do not distract from focus on the kids on the show. This allows for the viewer to form a more "personal" connection with the cast. With the diverse cast of preteen hosts, viewers can almost always find someone who looks and acts like them.
Though the actual set lacks scenery, the cast often travels to interesting places all around the world either individually or in pairs. They explore museums, national and international landmarks, and even interview artists, authors, and other notable people.
Unfortunately, If the show isn’t available on your PBS station or any of its substations and you’re not aware that you can stream it on PBS.org, you may not be going to actively search for it.
Kid Stew is incomparable to many other shows made for children. However, the show has a Mickey Mouse Club like quality combined with the educational aspects of another PBS program, Zoom. Though many incarnations of The Mickey Mouse Club and Zoom have been on and off the air for years, most programs made for kids lack the interpersonal feel that was pioneered by Fred Rogers in the early years of children’s television. Kid Stew is certainly charming, and would definitely impress kids, preteens, and parents alike; if it was more readily available.
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Saturday, October 11, 2025
