I Think You're Gonna Love Carl

A Big-Hearted Show Our World Needs Right Now

Last night felt cozy-perfect. Armed with ice cream and blankets, my family snuggled in to binge-watch the world premiere of “Carl the Collector,” a new show on PBS KIDS.

I’m one of the curriculum advisors for this show, so my kids have heard script excerpts for nearly two years. Sometimes they provide gut-check feedback that I pass along to the writers and producers. If you listen carefully in the Marble Run episode, you’ll even hear a rainbow marble named after my son!

So when the credits rolled and this flashed across the screen, I think they felt like it represented their names, too.

So who is Carl?

Carl is a warm-hearted autistic raccoon who loves collecting things: stuffies, bouncy balls, wing nuts, stamps issued before 1973, fake mustaches, lint dinosaurs, and on and on and on. Carl lives in Fuzzytown with his mom and five devoted friends.

• Sheldon the beaver, Carl’s BFF, has an empathy streak wider than his tail.

• Lotta the fox is a quiet, self-assured musician who, like Carl, is autistic. She often wears headphones to help manage her sound sensitivity.

• Nico and Arugula are identical twin bunny sisters with wildly different temperaments.

• And Forrest is a delightful, hyperactive squirrel with a nut allergy and loads of exuberant kindness.

Carl also spends many weekends with his dad, Harold, in the city. And he is surrounded by a larger village (okay Fuzzytown) of supportive neighbors, teachers, and friends. As series-creator Zach OHora shared in a recent interview, “Carl the Collector” is the type of story that really could make this world a better place.

“If we create a world where neurodiverse people and neurotypical people interact more naturally, everyone benefits. It’s like the Temple Grandin idea: If we make a world where neurodiverse people can navigate more easily, neurotypical people will see that this kind of problem-solving can be positive for everyone.”

The “Carl” team mirrors this vision, with autistic people working on every stage of production — from show advisors to writers to artists to voice actors. Like Kai, the amazing kid who voices Carl. And it is also the most collaborative and innovative team I have EVER been a part of professionally.

Do yourselves a favor and watch this two-minute “behind the scenes” video (Note: I have watched it nearly a dozen times; I tear up every time).

Okay, and I adore this promo montage. I want to live in a world like this, and that’s why I’m doing my absolute everything to raise kind kids.

You can watch Carl the Collector anywhere you get PBS KIDS, including their website. Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Deborah