Molly of Denali,a new animated series from WGBH Boston and PBS KIDS premieres Monday, July 15, on SDPB1, SDPB4 (the 24/7 SDPB KIDS channel), and all PBS KIDS digital platforms.
Molly of Denali is an action-adventure comedy about the adventures of feisty and resourceful 10-year-old Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl. Molly helps her mom and dad run the Denali Trading Post, a general store, bunkhouse, and transport hub in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. Each episode follows Molly, her dog Suki and her friends Tooey and Trini on their daily adventures in Alaska, from fishing to building snow forts to delivering a camera to friends on a volcano via dog sled.
Molly of Denali is designed to help kids ages 4-8 develop knowledge and skills for interacting with informational texts. In each episode, Molly’s life and adventures are enhanced and broadened by using and creating books, online resources, historic documents, indigenous knowledge from elders, maps, and more. Molly shares information through a vlog – short-form videos in which she shares aspects of her life in Alaska with kids in the lower 48 states and around the world.
One of the goals of the series is to bring Alaska Native voices into all production aspects, both on-and off-camera. A working group of Alaska Native advisors and consultants are working with WGBH. Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neets'aii Gwich'in) producer and Fairbanks resident, is creative producer of the series, which will also feature Alaska Native voice talent in key roles, including the lead role of Molly, and Alaska Native scriptwriters. WGBH and its animation partner, Atomic Cartoons, will host Alaska Native interns for production and animation roles.
“Molly of Denali showcases values paramount to all Alaskan Native cultures,” says Princess Daazhraii Johnson. “These values will be woven into each storyline and provide important learning moments. I’m especially excited that Alaska Native children will get to see themselves in Molly, who’s such an inspiring role model for all kids. The project’s Alaska Native advisors worked hard to ensure that our children will get to see our beautiful cultures in a respectful light.”
Molly of Denali premieres Monday, July 15, 7:30am (6:30 MT) & 3pm (2 MT) on SDPB1.
Molly of Denali airs weekdays on SDPB1 at 7:30am & 3pm and also on PBS KIDS 24/7 on SDPB4. Check all listings at SDPB.org.
More information: https://pbskids.org/molly
