PBS KIDS' Odd Squad Associate Producer talks producing season 4 in the UK, making math fun, and new characters
By Tiara Starks
Something odd is happening across the pond as the agents of Fred Rogers Productions’ series Odd Squad head overseas for season 4, which premieres on PBS KIDS this Oct.1! In the series, a group of young kids are part of an organization called The Odd Squad, which is run entirely by children who use reasoning and basic math to investigate and solve problems and some seriously strange occurrences in their town.
Odd Squad was created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman, who have worked extensively in children's television, including co-creating Apple TV+ Helpsters. Since the series premiere in 2014, Odd Squad has received 17 Daytime Emmy Awards, five Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and a BAFTA Children’s Award for International Live Action. It's also been made into a feature-length movie, which was released in 2016.
Needless to say, it's about to get a whole lot odder this year as season 4 arrives this October with a brand new slate of episodes set in the United Kingdom. The Odd Squad UK season is produced by Fred Rogers Productions in collaboration with Sinking Ship Entertainment and BBC Studios Kids & Family in association with CBBC, PBS KIDS, TVOKids, and SRC.
In addition to a new season, a marathon will air on the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel from Oct. 12-13 and be available for streaming beginning Oct. 1. There is also a new game called “Dicey Escape” that will be released on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Game App on Oct. 4.
We sat down with Odd Squad associate producer Arielle Reed Radack, who shared her varied experience working in children's television, the power of math in these upcoming episodes, and which one was her favorite. To find out, you'll have to read on!
The Parent Watch: Odd Squad, is a show I'm very familiar with and a fan of, especially regarding its messages. You've worked in children's television for quite some time, writing and producing shows like those from Fred Rogers [Productions] What initially drew you to children's television, and what does your role look like with Odd Squad in particular?
Arielle Reed Radack: That’s a great question. As a kid, I always knew I wanted to do something involving storytelling. I didn’t realize it would be producing kids’ TV; I initially thought it would involve publishing or writing books. I fell into this field by accident, but it’s been wonderful, allowing me to help create amazing stories for kids. I’m grateful to be in this position. Alongside Odd Squad, I also produce Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and recently wrote two episodes for Season 7, which was a fantastic opportunity. Regarding my role in Odd Squad, it's a blast being involved. While I don't write for the show, I provide top-level notes on scripts and get to see the stories develop from their initial concept all the way through to animation. When we see the animated elements added, we piece the story together, eventually delivering all our amazing accessibility assets.
My goal as a producer is to ensure the story is fun, safe, age-appropriate and meets PBS' established goals. I also want to highlight that we have great accessibility features for the show, including English and Spanish captions and audio descriptions. This year, for the first time, we also have Spanish accessibility assets available in the U.S., which is wonderful.
Accessibility is such an important topic in children's TV, so it’s great to hear that Odd Squad is ahead of the curve [this season]. As you work on the show, I wonder how producers like yourself gauge the reactions from parents, kids, or anyone engaging with the show. Have you received any standout feedback?
ARR: Yes, we do! Last year, I participated in a panel with elementary school kids. Afterward, they mailed me a packet of hand-drawn Odd Squad pictures, which I have displayed on my wall. They drew themselves as agents and sometimes included their names. We receive a lot of positive feedback from parents and families about how much they love Odd Squad. Many kids express a desire to become agents themselves and write to us asking if the Big O can write back. It's heartwarming to hear how the show helps kids improve their math skills.
The show does a great job of exploring math-related problems. Personally, I’m not a math person, so I often need things simplified. Regardless of their math skills, what do you find to be one of the most impactful episodes of this upcoming season?
ARR: First, I’ll admit that I never considered myself a math person either. If I had seen Odd Squad as a kid, I might have been more interested in math. The show truly makes math accessible to kids and viewers of all ages, even to me. One of my favorite episodes from the new season is Episode 405, titled "Lift Off." It’s so much fun! In this episode, Agent Orli, one of our main characters, needs to bring a singing clam to the 60th floor of her office before it sings and destroys her world. It has a classic Odd Squad premise. The math aspect revolves around Orli needing to take a lift (elevator) to the 60th floor. She encounters various elevators within headquarters: a two-lift, a ten-lift, and a twenty-lift. She must determine which elevator to use based on how many floors each one ascends. Sometimes, she accidentally goes down instead of up. This use of elevators visually illustrates addition and subtraction in a very engaging way.
That sounds adorable, and I love the lift versus elevator distinction! This season is set in the UK, so I’m curious if you faced any fun challenges while producing these episodes there. What was it like collaborating with other studios, such as BBC Kids?
ARR: Working with the BBC team and the Sinking Ship team was amazing. One of the fun and exciting challenges was navigating the language differences between British and American English. For instance, we decided to use the word "lift" instead of "elevator." We trust that kids, regardless of their location, will understand what "lift" means based on the context. It was a fun process sorting through language differences and learning new terms that are more common in the UK.
Given that the show has been on for a while, have you noticed any interesting similarities or differences between previous seasons and the current one? What makes Odd Squad even more unique in these upcoming episodes?
ARR: One of the best aspects of Odd Squad is the relationships between the agents. This season features a new pairing with the same core plot of new characters coming together. Orli, who is from Niagara Falls, arrives in the UK for the first time and feels like a newbie. Throughout the season, she learns how to partner with Ozzie and fit into the UK setting. There’s an episode where we use the phrase “part of the furniture,” which is more common in the UK, to illustrate how she finds her place among her coworkers. We also have a new boss this season named Captain O, whom I like to describe as a grizzled sea captain in the body of an eight-year-old girl. I’m excited for viewers to meet her!
Introducing new characters always adds freshness. I was also interested in the episodes titled "The Triangle Sisters" and "The Other Ozzie." Can you share insights into how those were made?
ARR: Absolutely! I love being in my position, where I can see stories evolve from initial ideas through scripting to production and finally on screen. We premiere on Oct.1st, and we have fantastic new episodes coming out then. Regarding those two episodes, "The Triangle Sisters" is a fun one where Orli and Ozzie suspect the Triangle Sisters of stealing shapes from the museum. The Triangle Sisters insist they can’t be the culprits because they only like triangles, while the stolen shapes are squares, pentagons, and rectangles. Throughout the episode, Orli and Ozzie try to understand what's happening, and they ultimately learn that triangles can combine into squares, pentagons, and rectangles, promoting learning about shapes and their relationships.
In "The Other Ozzie," Ozzie trades places with an agent named Oz from the 'Movie Star Dimension'. In this episode, Oz and Orli work together to solve cases. Oz, used to being a movie star with his lines fed to him, is bewildered by the real world. With Orli's help, he discovers his potential. One of my favorite moments includes an in-episode blooper reel featuring Ozzie messing up his lines, which is both silly and fun, showcasing the spirit of Odd Squad.