HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (September 25, 2018) – The Jim Henson Company announced today the production of an all-new fifth season of the six-time EMMY®-nominated and Parents’ Choice Silver Honor series DINOSAUR TRAIN™. A hit with both U.S. and international audiences, the new season’s 11 colorful CG-animated half-hour episodes (or 22 x 11’ episodes) will air on PBS KIDS® in Summer 2019.
Celebrating a momentous milestone of 100 half-hour episodes, the new season of DINOSAUR TRAIN continues the exploration of natural science with an emphasis on adventure, discovery, new inventions, social emotional learning and traveling outside our comfort zone. Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons will visit different climates, go underground, under the sea, and even up in the air in their search for the new and unknown, meeting and making new dinosaurs and even non-dinosaur buddies along the way!
“We have been honored by the millions of preschoolers from around the world who have joined us on the Dinosaur Train – adventuring with T-Rexes and Pteranodons, discovering new and exciting creatures, and learning how our natural world works,” said Halle Stanford, President of Television, The Jim Henson Company. “In our fifth season, kids (and parents) can expect to explore new time periods with Buddy and his family, from the Ice Age to the Cretaceous! Craig Bartlett and his amazing production team have more incredible Dinosaur Train adventures in store for all and it’s going to be an amazing ride!”
“We’re excited to welcome a new season of family-favorite, DINOSAUR TRAIN, to PBS KIDS,” said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS. “Over the years, we’ve seen children explore and grow with Buddy and the Pteranodon Family, and we’re thrilled to continue diving into important science and social emotional learning with a series we know kids love.”
Nominated for six Daytime Emmy® Awards, DINOSAUR TRAIN is as popular with international audiences as it is in the U.S., having aired in over 175 countries across the globe with key broadcast partners, including TVO and TFO (Canada), Nickelodeon (UK), Disney Channel (Germany), France 5 (France), RTVE Clan (Spain) SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), YLE (Finland), Canal+ (Poland) and Channel 1 (Russia).
DINOSAUR TRAIN, created by Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!), embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains while encouraging basic scientific thinking and skills. Each episode includes animated segments with live-action sequences featuring a paleontologist who brings to life the show’s natural science and natural history curriculum for preschoolers, giving specific facts about dinosaurs and comparing their features to animals of today. The series airs daily on PBS KIDS (check local listings), the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and PBS KIDS digital platforms.
In DINOSAUR TRAIN, viewers join Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons on whimsical adventures through prehistoric jungles, swamps, volcanoes and oceans as they unearth basic concepts in natural science, natural history, and paleontology. The Dinosaur Train is a colorful locomotive, customized to accommodate all kinds of dinosaurs and has the ability to visit the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous worlds. The Train’s Conductor, a knowledgeable Troodon, provides passengers with fascinating facts along the way.
In addition to the television series, there is also the award-winning DINOSAUR TRAIN website at pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain. The site was honored with a 2013 and 2017 Kidscreen Award for Best Companion Website in the “Preschool” category and is also a recipient of a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor and the prestigious Prix Jeunesse Award. The Jim Henson Company continues to encourage DINOSAUR TRAIN fans to join the “Nature Trackers Club,” a community of young children, their families and educators committed to learning about nature and doing good things for their environment. Kids and their parents can visit pbs.org/parents/dinosaurtrain/naturetrackers to download “Nature Trackers” activities and receive a free DINOSAUR TRAIN membership card to celebrate their achievement.
Dinosaur Train is produced by The Jim Henson Company and co-produced with Singapore animation company Sparky Animation with the participation and assistance of the Singapore Media Development Authority. The series is executive produced by Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford for The Jim Henson Company. Craig Bartlett also serves as executive producer. The Jim Henson Company oversees all ancillary exploitation of the property, including distribution, licensing and merchandising in all markets other than Asia, which is administered by Sparky Animation. PBS handles DVD distribution to North American consumer and education markets. Corporate funding is provided by Kiddie Academy® and Homer.
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world-famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Dot. (Universal Kids /Hulu), Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Word Party (Netflix), Doozers (Hulu/ Sprout), and the Emmy®-nominated Sid the Science Kid (PBS), Dinosaur Train (PBS), and Pajanimals (Universal Kids). Television productions include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. Features include Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, as well as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow. The Company is currently in production on the upcoming Netflix original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Projects in development include the highly anticipated film Fraggle Rock.
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post production facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand is currently touring Puppet-Up! – Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show, and its feature The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy, was released this summer.
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About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children’s learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school readiness and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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PHOTO CREDIT – © 2018 The Jim Henson Company. JIM HENSON’S mark & logo, DINOSAUR TRAIN mark & logo, characters and elements are trademarks of The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
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