PBS' Odd Squad is a Hit! (at least in my house it is)

PBS’ Odd Squad is a refreshing new show featuring young male and female government agents working together to investigate strange happenings in their town.  Bonus:  Math concepts are effortlessly interwoven into the story line of each episode!  The characters – in all their “odd” glory are hugely like-able.  My 6-year-old daughter, 4-year-old son, and 2-year-old daughter are all equally entertained by them.  I’m loving how each character has their own unique personality and that their gender does not dictate how they act.  The boss (think Charlie in Charlie’s Angels) is a no-nonsense girl of color and while she is the smallest in stature, she is a tough leader who manages her team well. No overly-masculine or overly-feminine characters here.  Just boys and girls who are serious and goofy at the same time and having fun while doing their important jobs.

One of my favorite scenes thus far happened when an unruly agent-in-training wanders off into different rooms of the Odd Squad facility.  First, it’s the volcano room, then the dinosaur room and last…The Princess Room – or as one agent puts it – “the most dangerous room in Odd Squad.”

As the agents enter the room to save the troublemaker, several laser-shooting robot princesses appear with eerie sounding “la la la’s” interspersed with “look what my tiara can do”, “let’s have a tea party” and “i want to braid your hair”.  The two female agents – Agent Olive and Dr. O – volunteer to take cover, fiercely rushing forward with their shields while their colleagues go and grab the agent-in-training.  As they are battling the robot princesses, Olive shouts, “I never liked princesses” to which Dr. O replies, “I hear you sister!”

Awesome.  Odd Squad gets it.  Let’s hope the rest of the world does too.