Family Life

08.01.11 | Sarah Harnisch

 The "son" of one of Mister Rogers' old neighbors is getting his own show.  PBS has announced plans to launch "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood," the first spin-off series from Fred Rogers' children's TV classic "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."  The animated series will revolve around four-year-old Daniel Tiger.  He's the son of Daniel Striped Tiger who lived in Rogers' trolley-transported "Neighborhood of Make Believe" in the original series.  According to PBS, the new series, currently in production, will operate under the premise that some of the characters from the original "neighborhood" have grown up and have preschoolers of their own.  "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2012.  The show was announced at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Sunday.

   The original "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" ran from 1968 to 2001.  Aimed toward preschool ages, the show featured soft-spoken host Fred Rogers interacting with puppet friends like Daniel Striped Tiger, Henrietta Pussycat, King Friday and X the Owl.  Every show opened with Rogers changing into a cardigan sweater and sneakers while singing the show's theme song, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"  Rogers died in 2003 at at the age of 74.