Helpsters is an American educational children's television series created by Tim McKeon and produced by Sesame Workshop and Big Indie Pictures as an original series for Apple TV+, and premiered on November 1, 2019, coinciding with the launch of the service. A spin-off short series, titled Helpsters Help You!, was released on April 24, 2020, in order to provide children with supportive content during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
| Helpsters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Tim McKeon |
| Written by | Tim McKeon |
| Starring |
|
| Opening theme | "How Can We Help You?" |
| Ending theme | "How Can We Help You?" |
| Composer | Paul Buckley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Production locations | New York City, New York |
| Running time | 22-28 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Apple TV+ |
| Release | November 1, 2019 – January 6, 2023 |
The show was announced at Apple's "It's Showtime" presentation on March 25, 2019, by Sesame Street's Big Bird and series protagonist Cody.[2]
In March 2021, Apple renewed Helpsters for a third season which premiered on May 27, 2022.[3]
Premise
editA group of monsters known as the Helpsters work together to help solve the problems of customers who enter their shop through teamwork and problem solving. The series aims to teach children important skills for planning and following directions for the challenges they face, as well as introducing them to basic concepts in coding.[4][5]
Cast and characters
editMain
edit- Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Cody – Cody is the enthusiastic leader of the Helpsters whose positive attitude never fails to rally everyone to action.
- Martin P. Robinson as Mr. Primm – Mr. Primm is the most sophisticated member of the Helpsters with a secret wild streak. Always willing to help, Mr. Primm gets hung up on doing things the correct way.
- Tim Lagasse as Scatter – Scatter is the youngest and most innocent member of the Helpsters. He can be scatterbrained at times, but also comes up with ideas by thinking outside the box.
- Ingrid Hansen as Heart – Heart is the Helpster with the biggest heart. Be careful which instructions you give Heart, because Heart will do exactly what you say.
- Jennifer Barnhart as Jackie – Jackie is the Helpsters’ closest friend who appears whenever they need an extra hand. She speaks in monster mumbles that only the Helpsters can understand.
The series features puppet characters designed and built by Monkey Boys Productions.[6]
Episodes
edit| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 13 | November 1, 2019 | April 3, 2020 | |
| 2 | 13 | October 16, 2020 | March 5, 2021 | |
| 3 | 14 | May 27, 2022 | January 6, 2023 | |
Season 1 (2019-20)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Amazing Alie / Robbie & Rhonda Runner" | Ben Lehmann | Tim McKeon | November 1, 2019 |
| 2 | 2 | "Dancer Dave / Astronaut Amrita" | Benjamin Lehmann | Nick Confalone | November 1, 2019 |
| 3 | 3 | "Singing Starlett / Heart's Family Photo" | Matt Vogel | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | November 1, 2019 |
| 4 | 4 | "Rita Reader / Cody Gets a Cold" | Shannon Flynn | Liz Hara | November 1, 2019 |
| 5 | 5 | "Musical Mabels / Barbara Birdwatcher" | Shannon Flynn | Annabeth Bondor-Stone & Connor White | November 1, 2019 |
| 6 | 6 | "Wayne of Wonder / Paleontologist Paloma" | Ryan McFaul | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | November 1, 2019 |
| 7 | 7 | "Scatter / Sid Square" | Unknown | Eva Konstantopoulos | April 3, 2020 |
| 8 | 8 | "Frank the Flyer / Neighbor Nora" | Melanie Orr | Unknown | April 3, 2020 |
| 9 | 9 | "Isaac Ice / Air Conditioning Repairman Aaron" | Unknown | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | April 3, 2020 |
| 10 | 10 | "Chef Charlie / Fashion Fil" | Unknown | Nick Confalone & Tim McKeon | April 3, 2020 |
| 11 | 11 | "Basketball Brianna / Heart’s Fish" | Unknown | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | April 3, 2020 |
| 12 | 12 | "Nurse Nina & Farmer Flynn / Firefighter Fran & Painter Pat" | Unknown | Unknown | April 3, 2020 |
| 13 | 13 | "Primmflandia Day / Marching Band Marsha" | Unknown | Annabeth Bondor-Stone & Connor White | April 3, 2020 |
Season 2 (2020-21)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Amazing Atticus / Sea Lovin’ Sam" | Unknown | Unknown | October 16, 2020 |
| 15 | 2 | "Ballerina Betsy / Pizza Pasquale" | Shannon Flynn & Sean Mulcahy | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | October 16, 2020 |
| 16 | 3 | "Mini-Golf Mike / Helpsters Need Help" | Tim McKeon | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | October 16, 2020 |
| 17 | 4 | "Helpsters Halloween / Storyteller Sophia" | Unknown | Unknown | October 16, 2020 |
| 18 | 5 | "Billy Bug / Cody Rides a Bike" | Unknown | Unknown | October 16, 2020 |
| 19 | 6 | "Mr. Primm’s Spoon Club / Cookie Cornelius" | Tim McKeon & Shannon Flynn | Unknown | October 16, 2020 |
| 20 | 7 | "Camper Cortez / Artist Andrew & Detective Dudley" | Unknown | Alex Fox & Rachel Lewis | October 16, 2020 |
| 21 | 8 | "Helpsters Help Heart / Callie the Clown" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
| 22 | 9 | "Park Ranger Percy / Lizard Lizzy" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
| 23 | 10 | "Bells and Whistles Will / Beatrice Builder" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
| 24 | 11 | "Piano Paul / Grandma Gracie" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
| 25 | 12 | "Freeze Pop Felix / Bowling Babette" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
| 26 | 13 | "T-Ball Toni / Trophy Todd" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 2021 |
Season 3 (2022)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Delivery Delia / Knight Niko" | Unknown | Adam Peltzman | May 27, 2022 |
| 28 | 2 | "Mail Carrier Marty / His Royal Primmness" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 2022 |
| 29 | 3 | "Smoothie Samantha / Taxi Tina" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 2022 |
| 30 | 4 | "Cheerleader Chadwick & Chelsea / Heart's Family Dinner" | Unknown | Adam Peltzman & Tim McKeon | May 27, 2022 |
| 31 | 5 | "Pancake Flipping Pietro / Scatter's Band" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 2022 |
| 32 | 6 | "Race Car Roxy / Helpsters Go to the Beach" | Unknown | Unknown | May 27, 2022 |
| 33 | 7 | "Sporty Spencer / Giveaway Day" | Joe Menendez | Tim McKeon | May 27, 2022 |
| 34 | 8 | "Birthday Performer Bart / Supermarket Sue" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 35 | 9 | "Weather-Loving Winston / Veterinarians Vera and Vinnie" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 36 | 10 | "Traveling Tracy / Inventor Ines" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 37 | 11 | "Scuba Skylar / Librarians Leroy, Lana, & Luke" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 38 | 12 | "Mechanic Mel / Robby & Rhonda Run Again" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 39 | 13 | "Wizard Wallace / Heart Goes to the Dentist" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
| 40 | 14 | "Nurse Nina / Helpsters' Hundredth Help" | Unknown | Unknown | January 6, 2023 |
Helpsters Help You (2020)
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "When Plans Change" | Unknown | Unknown | April 24, 2020 |
| 2 | "Honorary Helpster" | Unknown | Unknown | May 1, 2020 |
| 3 | "Scavenger Hunt" | Unknown | Unknown | May 8, 2020 |
| 4 | "Bright Smiles & Hand Waves" | Unknown | Unknown | May 15, 2020 |
| 5 | "How to Be Together" | Unknown | Unknown | May 22, 2020 |
| 6 | "Thank You" | Unknown | Unknown | May 29, 2020 |
Reception
editAccolades
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Effects Costume. Make Up and Hairstyling | Andrea Detwiler, Jean Marie Keevins, Jimmy Helvin, Marc, Petrosino, Michael Latini | Nominated | [8] |
| Outstanding Costume Design/Styling | Zeynep Netherton, Mikaela Wohl | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Single Camera Editing | Robert Arrucci | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Children's or Young Adult Program | Tim McKeon, Connor White, Amy Keating Rogers, Laurie Israel, Annabeth Bondor-Stone, Liz Hara, Anna Christopher, Rachel Lewis, Alex Fox, Nick Confalone | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Preschool Children's Series | Tim McKeon, Kay Wilson Stallings, Benjamin Lehmann, Melanie Grisanti, Michael J. Cargill, Alex Fox, Rachel Lewis, Jackie Stolfi, Eileen Bernstien | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Breaking News - Cody and The Helpsters Team Up for Apple's "Helpsters Help You," Inspired by the Parents' Choice Award-Winning "Helpsters," Now Streaming for Free | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ Kooser, Amanda. "Apple dives into children's shows with Sesame Workshop". CNET. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ "Breaking News - Apple TV+ Unveils Robust Lineup of Hit Children's Series, Including the Peanuts Gang, Emmy-winning "Ghostwriter," Parents' Choice-winning "Helpsters," "Doug Unplugs" and More | TheFutonCritic.com". The Futon Critic. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "Helpsters". Apple TV+ Press. Archived from the original on 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ "Helpsters | Sesame Workshop". www.sesameworkshop.org. Archived from the original on 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ "Monkey Boys Productions's Instagram profile post: "Congratulations to everyone on the Helpsters team on 5 Daytime Emmy nominations!!! We are honored to be a part of the this amazing puppet…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ a b c "Helpsters - Episodes". Apple TV+ Press. Apple Inc. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Montgomery, Daniel (July 27, 2020). "2020 Daytime Emmy winners: Full list of nominees and winners in all categories". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2021.