'Mister Rogers' producer wants new show

PITTSBURGH - The media company behind the PBS hit "Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood" is working on a new children's television series.

John Gilmer...

I still enjoy watch the "plant tours" that Rogers or one of the other actors
took the cameras on.

"They" could just string them together and instantly get programming at
least a few years beyond what the main show aimed for.

Kevin Morrison, chief operating officer of Family Communications Inc.,
told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the company is in talks with producers
of several children's TV shows about a new program.

Morrison said there is no timetable and ideas are still being
discussed. One thing it won't be is an updated version of the original
show, he said.

"We're taking our time. We want to get it right," Morrison told the
newspaper in Thursday's editions.

Production of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" ended in 2000, and Fred
Rogers, the show's star, died in 2003, at age 74. The show still airs
on most PBS stations around the country.

Rogers' widow, Joanne, who also serves as Family Communications' board
chairwoman, said it's a good thing the group is pursuing other
projects.

"I really think Fred would be proud of the organization for trying to
continue their leadership in the field of children's television," she
told the newspaper.

Morrison said no matter what the new program is, it will be something
similar in theme to what Rogers promoted.

"We're talking about classic `Mister Rogers' topics having to do with
social, emotional and developmental issues," he said. "The way Fred did
that was Fred's way. The way we do it next won't necessarily be Fred's
way, but we think it will be a way Fred would respect and approve of."

___

On the Net: