New Animated PBS KIDS Series, 'Skillsville,' Harnesses Gaming to Open a World of Possibilities

Premieres March 3, 5:30 p.m. on WHRO Kids
15.3 | Cox 108 | Charter Digital 120 | FiOS 462

Welcome to Skillsville! Skillsville, a dynamic PBS Kids animated series created by Twin Cities PBS (TPT), will encourage kids ages 4-8 to “power up” the skills they need for future success by depicting the benefits of one of the most popular forms of media—video games. Taking its cue from some of the best elements that gaming has to offer, the fun new series centers on three best friends, Cora (ParCora), Dev (Devosaurus), and Rae (Racer Rae), who love to play together, whether it’s on the playground or in their favorite digital game, “Skillsville.” With each episode, young viewers will enter a world of career possibilities with the goal to hone their life skills, including self-regulation and strategies to help them to feel, focus, organize, remember and think differently.

Each episode of Skillsville begins with Cora, Dev, and Rae in the real world and focuses on one of the five life skills (feel, focus, organize, remember and think differently) they further cultivate in the game world. Once in the game, the characters appear as their avatars and summon Scout, a dog with dragonfly wings who flutters in and sniffs out trouble and supports them as they complete challenges. The players then work together and learn useful strategies to complete the task, win the game, and earn career-related badges. When they’re back in the real world, Cora, Dev, and Rae use the skills and strategies they’ve acquired in “Skillsville,” which are essential in helping people of all ages to learn, work, and manage the activities of daily living.

Logical and level-headed, Cora is a gamer through and through, and she’s always ready with a plan to solve even the toughest game challenge, even if she struggles to trust her instincts. With his vivid imagination and playful personality, Dev is an out-of-the-box thinker who creatively works his way through any problem he encounters, though he sometimes struggles to focus and manage his emotions. Born with spina bifida, Rae uses a wheelchair, and her adventurous spirit and swift action help her to tackle any challenge she encounters in “Skillsville,” where she also learns how to slow down so she can think things through. When Cora’s game designer mom asks them to test out her new virtual reality role-playing game, “Skillsville,” the three pals get to take their playtime to a whole new level.

In the game of “Skillsville,” players get to manage their own virtual city, populated by tiny residents called Beeples. By trying out various jobs, the gamers help keep the city running smoothly, and when things go wrong, it’s up to the three friends to develop a creative solution. They become paper plane air traffic controllers, lemonade stand entrepreneurs, rollercoaster train engineers, in addition to many more roles—learning how different jobs benefit the city of Skillsville and the Beeples who live there. And since players get to customize their very own avatars, the trio can let their inner selves shine through—Cora becomes Parkora, a parkour warrior; Dev transforms into Devosaurus, an earth-stomping dinosaur; and Rae fulfills her need for speed as Racer Rae. Of course, even the best gamers need help sometimes, especially in a world as unpredictable as “Skillsville,” so Scout is always ready to help troubleshoot any problem.

Skillsville premieres March 3, 2025 on WHRO Kids.
Play skillsville games and more at skillsville.org.