Raggs

Raggs
Genre	Children's television
Created by	Toni Steedman
Written by	Kym Goldsworthy (lead writer)
Directed by	Ian Munro Ralph Strasser Peter Nathan Daniel Nettheim Jonathan Geraghty
Starring	April L. Kresken
Theme music composer	Rebecca Kent Story Michael McGinnis
Opening theme	"Raggs TV Theme Song"
Ending theme	"Raggs TV Theme Song"
Composer(s)	Fred Story Rebecca Kent Story Michael McGinnis Erin Odani David Floyd Barbara Lewis Jamie Hoover
Country of origin	Australia United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	78
Production
Executive producer(s)	Noel Price Toni Steedman
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Principal Production ABC Studios, Sydney (2006–2009) Supplemental Production Blue Socks Media (2009–2012) Co-production Raggs LLC Southern Star International
Distributor	Southern Star KQED (US) American Public Television (US) PBS Kids (2007–2012) (US)
Release
Original network	Seven Network (Australia) Qubo (United States)
Original release	2 January 2006 (2006-01-02) – 18 February 2009 (2009-02-18)
External links
Website

Raggs is an Australian-American live action and animated musical preschool television series originally produced in Sydney, Australia, with additional U.S. production in English and Spanish. "Raggs"’ episode library includes 195 finished half hour episodes and 200 original songs in multiple languages. The musical and educational series is based on the original characters created by Toni Steedman, a Charlotte, NC, advertising executive, for her then six‐year‐old daughter Alison. It was broadcast in the US on 4 February 2008 on PBS Kids, after its initial run in Australia. In 2014, The Raggs Band reunited to record 20 classic kids songs to accompany new "Raggs" animation to be included in the show and distributed on the "Raggs" YouTube channel, RaggsTV. "Raggs" and all rights are owned by Blue Socks Media, Charlotte, NC. The Raggs characters are used at Grand Palladium family-friendly resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico to host the kids program, "Play at Palladium with Raggs." Features include a Live Show, disco party, and character breakfast.

Broadcast

Raggs began broadcasting on SABC2 in South Africa in May 2018.

"Raggs" recently aired in the US and Canada on Qubo^[1] in English, Telemundo in Spanish, and in Latin America on FETV Canal-Panama, RTV-Ecuador, Canal Dos-El Salvador, Guest Choice Cable-Dominican Republic and Corporación Televicentro-Honduras. "Raggs" YouTube channel, RaggsTV, hosts short episodes and animations to classic kids songs.

History

Raggs was originally created in 1990 by U.S. advertising executive Toni Steedman for her then six-year-old daughter, Alison, as a series of carpool stories. Steedman later used the Raggs character for a regional mall promotion and advertising campaign. By 2001, the successful mall programs encouraged Steedman, along with former HBO producer Carole Rosen, to create a one-hour music video-inspired pilot called "Pawsuuup," which was shot in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and New York City in August 2001. While Steedman shopped the pilot for a production or broadcast partner, The Raggs Band (also known as the Raggs Kids Club Band because of the regional mall kids clubs for which Raggs served as mascot) began playing concerts at fairs, festivals and performing arts venues.

In 2005, Steedman and her company, Raggs LLC, entered into a co-production relationship with Southern Star International (now Endemol Australia) to produce the Raggs series for the Seven Network in Sydney, Australia. Production began in 2005 at the ABC Studios in Sydney, and the first episode of Series 1 began airing daily at 9 am on Seven in January 2006. Series 1 consisted of 65 half hours episodes. Raggs quickly garnered strong ratings and, within a few months of airing, Seven ordered Series 2, an additional 65 episodes. In 2007, Seven ordered Series 3, also 65 episodes, bringing the total to 195 original half hours by 2009. Each episode featured original Raggs’ music, written and produced in the U.S. by Concentrix Music and Sound Design, requiring over 200 original songs for the 195 half hours of shows.

Southern Star distributed Raggs to several countries including Singapore, Bulgaria, South Africa and India. In the U.S., Steedman worked to establish Raggs on public television. KQED San Francisco signed on as the presenting station in association with American Public Television, and Raggs began airing on public TV stations in 2007.

In January 2010, Steedman reacquired Southern Star’s distribution and licensing rights under Blue Socks Media LLC. Blue Sock Media LLC, completing a complete consolidation of the worldwide assets, later purchased Raggs LLC. Steedman continues to head Blue Socks Media in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In July 2012, Telemundo, the NBC-owned Spanish language network, licensed 120 episodes of Raggs in Spanish.^[2] Raggs airs on Telemundo Saturdays at 8 am ET and Sundays at 8 and 8:30 am ET.

Raggs Live Around the World

The Raggs Band has played more than 2,000 live performances in four continents. In the U.S., Raggs has performed at many state fairs, basketball games, regional malls, national fundraisers such as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, and parades. Overseas, the Raggs Band has performed at U.S. military bases in Japan, South Korea, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Iceland.

In Australia, the Raggs Band performed at Westfield Malls and was one of two children's acts to perform on Carols in the Domain, a nationally televised live musical show.

Episodes

References

External links

• Official website
• Raggs.com.au (archived)
• Raggs at Blue Socks Media
• Raggs on IMDb
• Raggs TV's channel on YouTube