Cat in the Hat Season Two & Holiday Special in the Works

TORONTO: Production has begun on the second season of the preschool series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, which has also been commissioned for a one-hour Christmas special.

Broadcasters PBS KIDS in the U.S. and Treehouse in Canada have commissioned a one-hour Christmas special based on the series that is scheduled to air during the 2012 holiday season. CBC has also signed on as a broadcast partner and began airing season one this month.

The series airs internationally in more than 80 countries, including on Disney Junior Australia, Spain, Italy and Korea; Discovery Kids Latin America, NRK in Norway, Hop! In Israel and MTV OY in Finland. The series also features an accompanying online gaming component.

“Since its launch last year, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! has consistently ranked among the top-rated preschool shows on TV in the U.S.,” said Lesli Rotenberg, the senior VP of children’s media at PBS. “We are excited to continue to bring this series to America’s children, helping foster a love of science and exploration in the next generation of kids.”

“Dr. Seuss was an iconic children’s content creator,” added Kim Wilson, the creative head of CBC children’s and youth programming. “It’s wonderful that his great work can live on in this way for a new generation of Canadian viewers here at the CBC.”