Donkey Hodie (TV series)

American live-action puppet children's television series from PBS Kids

Donkey Hodie

Genre| Children's television series
Musical
Comedy
Created by| David Rudman
Adam Rudman
Based on| Characters
by Fred Rogers
Developed by| Ellen Doherty
Starring|

* Haley Jenkins
* Stephanie D'Abruzzo
* David Rudman
* Frankie Cordero

Theme music composer| Bill Sherman
Opening theme| "With Our Pal Donkey Hodie" performed by Taylor Iman Jones, Haley Jenkins, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and David Rudman
Ending theme| "With Our Pal Donkey Hodie" (instrumental)
Composers|

* Bill Sherman
* Zack Zeyde
* Noah Deblasis

Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 2
No. of episodes| 65 (127 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers|

* David Rudman
* Adam Rudman
* Ellen Doherty

Producers|

* Adam Rudman
* David Rudman
* Ellen Doherty
* Kristin DiQuollo

Running time| 23 minutes (two 11-minute segments)
Production companies|

* Spiffy Pictures
* Fred Rogers Productions

Original release
Network| PBS Kids
Release| May 3, 2021 (2021-05-03) –
present
Related
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
Nature Cat

Donkey Hodie is an American puppet live action musical children's television series created by David and Adam Rudman for PBS Kids, and is aimed at preschoolers ages 3 to 5. Inspired by characters created by Fred Rogers, the series premiered May 3, 2021,[1] and is the second spin-off of Rogers' television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood after Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.[2] The first full episode was initially set to premiere in the winter of 2021 on PBS Kids in the United States, but it was pushed back to May 3 of the same year.

## Plot

[edit]

In the land of Someplace Else, just north of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Donkey Hodie and her friends go throughout their day while solving different problems along the way.

## Cast

[edit]

* Haley Jenkins as Donkey Hodie, the granddaughter of Grampy Hodie (the original Donkey Hodie[3]). Like her grandfather, her name is a pun on the novel Don Quixote. She's eponymously named, sunny and brave.
* Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Duck Duck, Harriet Elizabeth Cow and Mama Panda; Duck Duck's name is eponymous.
* David Rudman as Bob Dog, an upbeat red dog, Grampy Hodie and Stanley the Dragon.
* Frankie Cordero as Purple Panda and Turtle Lou.
* Peter Linz as Clyde the Cloud.
* Matt Vogel as King Friday, the ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
* Joey Mazzarino as Game Show Gator and Super Porcupine.
* Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Dodie Hodie, Donkey's cousin.
* Jimmica Collins as Rockstar Penguin.
* Melvin Campbell as Rogers the Fish

The original Donkey Hodie, Bob Dog, Purple Panda, Harriet Cow and King Friday all originated on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. All other characters were newly created for the Donkey Hodie series.[3]

## Episodes

[edit]

Main article: List of Donkey Hodie episodes

Season| Segments| Episodes| Originally released

|
|
|

First released| Last released
1| 79| 40| May 3, 2021 (2021-05-03)| February 23, 2023 (2023-02-23)
2| 48| 25| August 14, 2023 (2023-08-14)| April 17, 2025 (2025-04-17)

## Production

[edit]

The series was announced in January 2020. The title character is the granddaughter of the original Donkey Hodie, a character from the Neighborhood of Make Believe on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.[3][4][5][6]

### Music

[edit]

Like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the series includes both new songs as well as songs written by Rogers.

The music for the show was composed by Bill Sherman, Zack Zeyde, and Noah Deblasis.

## Home video

[edit]

The following DVDs contain episodes of the show:

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Playtime with Daniel!

1. "The Masked Veggies"
2. "The Royal Hosts"

PBS KIDS: Secret Superheroes!

1. "Donkey's Bad Day"
2. "Yodel Bird Egg"

PBS KIDS: Just A Little Bit Spooky!

1. "A Donkey Hodie Halloween"

PBS KIDS: We Love Camping!

1. "A Night Out"
2. "A Poetry Problem"

PBS KIDS: Get Up and Dance!

1. "The Cow & Potato Bug Opera"
2. "Everything Explorers"

PBS KIDS: 17 Puppy Adventures

1. "Fastest Fetcher"
2. "Bobbly Ball"

PBS KIDS: Book Buddies

1. "Bye Bye, Book"
2. "Tater Buddies"

PBS KIDS: 17 Fun Food Stories

1. "Flying Flapjacks"
2. "Pickle Penguin Problem"

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Nominee  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2021 | TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming | Donkey Hodie | Nominated |
2022 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Writing In An Educational Program | Adam Rudman
David Rudman
Joey Mazzarino | Nominated |
2022 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Live Action Program | Joel K. Flory
Mark Kluiszo | Nominated |
2023 | TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming | Donkey Hodie | Nominated |
2023 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Puppetry Performance | Harley Jenkins | Nominated |
Frankie Cordero  | Nominated  |
2025  | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Preschool Series  | Donkey Hodie | Nominated  |
Outstanding Interactive Media  | Cousin Hodie Playdate | Won  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "TV Talk: New 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' spin-off debuts in May". TribLIVE.com. January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
2. ^ "'Donkey Hodie,' PBS KIDS Series Inspired by 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,' Premieres 3 May 2021 with help/funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting". PBS. PBS Publicity. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
3. ^ a b c Graeber, Laurel (May 2, 2021). "'Donkey Hodie' Adds a Fresh Face to Fred Rogers's World. And a Mohawk". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
4. ^ Tuchow, Ryan (January 13, 2020). "Fred Rogers sees space for more puppets". KidScreen.
5. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (January 27, 2021). "'Donkey Hodie' Continues the Mister Rogers Legacy on PBS KIDS May 3". Animation Magazine.
6. ^ "Donkey Hodie". 9 Story.

## External links

[edit]

Donkey Hodie (TV series) at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Data from Wikidata

* Official website
* Donkey Hodie at IMDb
* Donkey Hodie at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

* Neighborhood of Make-Believe

Seasons|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 22
* 23
* 24
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31

Films|

* Speedy Delivery
* Won't You Be My Neighbor?
* Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
* A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Other|

* Fred Rogers Productions
* Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (episodes)
* Donkey Hodie (episodes)
* Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
* Idlewild and Soak Zone
* 26858 Misterrogers
* Jeff Erlanger
* "What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel?"

* v
* t
* e

PBS Kids original programming

Current|

* Sesame Street (since 1969, second run since 2016)
* Cyberchase (since 2002)
* Wild Kratts (since 2011)
* Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (since 2012)
* Odd Squad (since 2014)
* Pinkalicious & Peterrific (since 2018)
* Molly of Denali (since 2019)
* Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (since 2019)
* Elinor Wonders Why (since 2020)
* Donkey Hodie (since 2021)
* Alma's Way (since 2021)
* Rosie's Rules (since 2022)
* Work It Out Wombats! (since 2023)
* Lyla in the Loop (since 2024)
* Milo (since 2024)
* Carl the Collector (since 2024)
* Skillsville (since 2025)

See also|

* PBS original programming
* Educational television
* PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch
* PBS Kids Go!

* Former original series template

Portals:

* 2020s
* United States
* Animation
* Cartoon
* Education
* Television
* Horses

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template