FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EAT, DRINK, AND BE HEALTHY WITH CURIOUS GEORGE®

THIS FALL ON PBS KIDS®

All-New Health & Fitness Themed Season Features Exuberant

New Character Allie Whoops and Exciting Guest Star Ed Begley Jr.

Boston, MA and Universal City, CA, July 28, 2009—America’s favorite little monkey swings back into the PBS KIDS lineup this fall with an all-new set of health and fitness themed (mis)-adventures. Premiering Tuesday, September 8, at 8am and 3pm on WGBH 2/HD, the fourth season of CURIOUS GEORGE introduces preschoolers to the concepts of nutrition, physical fitness, why pesky germs can cause the sniffles—and the smartest way to fight them off!

“Teaching young children the principles and benefits of a healthy lifestyle is of global importance today,” said Senior Producer for WGBH Dorothea Gillim. “The health and fitness theme of our fourth season teaches preschoolers how exercise and healthy eating habits not only help them lead better lives, but that a healthy lifestyle can also be a lot of fun and taste delicious!”

Lessons about health and fitness are seamlessly embedded into episodes that find George playing personal trainer to Professor Wiseman, turning fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market into delicious juice, and fighting off Toots the Germ. In the season’s premiere episode, actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr. makes a special guest appearance as Dr. Greenbeen—a horticulturist who teaches George why pruning trees is essential to their growth. In future episodes George, The Man with the Yellow Hat, and their friends dig a canal in hopes of rescuing a fish who finds himself far from home, learn why Gnocchi the cat has allergies, and help their canine friend Charkie to focus so she can finish the course required for her obedience school exam.

The series welcomes a new character in its fourth season—5¾ year-old Allie Whoops—as George’s newest partner in curiosity and (mis)-adventure. The glass is always half-full for Allie. She is a fearless tomboy, a fantastic storyteller, and an exuberant motor mouth with breathless and sometimes impractical, but always inspired, plans of action. When Allie makes her debut in the third new episode of the season, airing on October 12, 2009 (check local listings), she’s brimming with questions about what it’s like to be a monkey and finds out when she gets herself stuck in a tree! With help from her new friend George, Allie channels her inner monkey to make it back down to earth.

Brought to public television by Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston, and Universal Studios Family Productions, with the support of Curious George publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the series was recently nominated for two Daytime Emmy® Awards in the categories of “Outstanding Children’s Animated Program” and “Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program.” The all-new fourth season is narrated by Rino Romano (The Batman), and features nine half-hour episodes.

“We are thrilled to bring CURIOUS GEORGE back to PBS KIDS this fall, and are eager to see the positive impact our health and fitness season will have on young viewers,” said Senior Vice President of Animation Production for Universal Studios Productions Ellen Cockrill. “As in previous seasons, we worked closely with our team of educational advisors to determine the theme and learning objectives that would be most timely and truly resonate with preschoolers and their parents. Key health and fitness learning objectives are woven into the narrative of each new episode, enabling preschoolers to become absorbed in the story and come away having engaged meaningfully with the educational content, all the while having fun!”

The popular CURIOUS GEORGE companion Web site at pbskids.org/curiousgeorge will launch five new games and several new videos throughout the new season.

Funding is provided by public television viewers. National corporate sponsorship of CURIOUS GEORGE is provided by Chuck E. Cheese’s®, Sun-Maid Growers, and Rainforest Cafe®.

CURIOUS GEORGE is a production of Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston, and Universal Studios Family Productions. Executive producers are Ron Howard (Imagine), Brian Grazer (Imagine), Carol Greenwald (WGBH), and Ellen Cockrill (Universal). Senior producer for WGBH is Dorothea Gillim. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLP. Television series: ©2009. Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Ann Petruccelli, WGBH Boston, 617.300.5331,

Michelle Slavich, Universal Studios, 818.777.5344,

IMAGE CONTACT

Marya McLaughlin, WGBH Boston, 617.300.5309,

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ABOUT THE CURIOUS GEORGE TELEVISION SERIES

CURIOUS GEORGE the television series is designed to inspire kids to explore science, math, and engineering in the world around them in a fun and entertaining way. Based on the best-selling Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Rey, the daily series on PBS KIDS expands George’s world to include a host of colorful characters and original locales, while maintaining the charm of the beloved books. Each of the 12 half-hour episodes includes two animated stories followed by short live-action pieces showing real kids who are investigating the ideas that George introduces in his stories. The series encourages inquiry and curiosity, promotes hands-on exploration, and shows parents and caregivers how to support children’s science and math- related play.

Imagine Entertainment was founded in 1986 by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to create movies, television and other original programming. Since its inception, Imagine Entertainment has been honored with more than 40 prestigious awards, including eight Academy Awards and 14 Emmys. Their past productions include the Academy Award-winning films A Beautiful Mind, 8 Mile, Apollo 13 in addition to The Da Vinci Code, and Curious George, and the Emmy and Golden- Globe-winning television series 24 and Arrested Development. Imagine Entertainment has a long standing production/distribution agreement with Universal Pictures.

WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcasting station, producing one-third of PBS’s prime-time lineup—more than any other single production house. WGBH is the creator of the award-winning PBS children’s series Arthur, Between the Lions, Postcards from Buster, and ZOOM, as well as the critically acclaimed new favorites CURIOUS GEORGE and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. WGBH also produces the award-winning Peep and the Big Wide World (seen on TLC’s Ready Set Learn! and the Discovery Kids Channel), and Time Warp Trio (seen on the Discovery Kids Channel). Under the leadership of Vice President Brigid Sullivan, the WGBH children’s lineup leads the field in educational multimedia (including the Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in technologies and services that make media accessible to people with disabilities. WGBH’s current children’s series have been recognized with some of the world’s most prestigious awards, including 14 Emmys, the George Foster Peabody award, three Prix Jeunesse awards, a BAFTA, and more than a dozen Parents’ Choice Awards. For more information, visit www.wgbh.org.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company is a global education leader and the world's largest publisher of educational materials for pre-K–12 schools. The Company publishes a comprehensive set of best-in-class educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for students and educators. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning literature for adults and young readers. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, visit www.hmhpub.com

PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!

PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offer all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and community outreach programs. With positive role models and content designed to nurture a child’s total well-being, PBS’s children’s media and family and educator resources - including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media, technology and community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Empowering children for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 356 public television stations, serving more than 115 million people on-air and online each month.

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