Learning Lab
New animated series PHOEBE & JAY to premiere February 2, 2026 on PBS KIDS
< < Back toSeries Helps Boost Everyday Literacy Skills and Empowers Preschoolers to Navigate the World Around Them
PBS KIDS announced the premiere date for PHOEBE & JAY, a fun, literacy-focused animated series for children ages 3-5 from Phoebe & Jay Productions and Mainframe Studios (SUPER KITTIES, COCOMELON, OCTONAUTS). The new show, which follows the adventures of the curiously charismatic 6-year-old fraternal twins, Phoebe and Jay Yarber, highlights a variety of texts that preschoolers encounter in their daily lives–from labels and signs to posters and more–to foster their early literacy skills and help them navigate the world around them. Created by Genie Deez and Thy Than, PHOEBE & JAY debuts on PBS KIDS February 2, 2026.
“Every year, 40% of children enter kindergarten with literacy skills one to three years behind their grade level, creating a difficult gap for them to overcome*,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS. “We hope that PHOEBE & JAY’s relatable characters, fun, family-centered stories, and foundational curriculum will help equip young viewers nationwide with the everyday literacy skills they need to find success in school and in life.”
PHOEBE & JAY’s literacy curriculum is designed to closely support preschoolers as they learn how to create and use the many types of functional texts that they encounter each day. As the twins uncover adventures in their new home, they use a flyer to help a neighbor find a lost pet and read clothing labels to find the right size shirt. Phoebe and Jay showcase for young viewers how they, too, can utilize these skills to explore their surroundings, pursue their interests, and accomplish tasks big and small in their own lives.
The titular twins live with their dad, Pete, an eternal optimist, with the support of their loving, no-nonsense Grandma Annie. The series captures some of the experiences and learning opportunities found in the fantastical Tobsy Towers, the unique setting for many of the close-knit Yarber family’s adventures, which was inspired by the grand old hotels in Los Angeles that have been repurposed into affordable apartments.In one story, after Phoebe and Jay accidentally get paint on the mail, they need to decode the addresses so each of their Tobsy Towers neighbors receive the correct packages. And in another, the twins discover reel-to-reel recordings left behind by Tobsy, the architect of Tobsy Towers, and create labels to sort the recordings.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to create a show that features so many different neighbors and thinkers who laugh together, help each other, and go on fun adventures. We hope viewers recognize themselves in one of our characters and that the show inspires them to notice all the signs, symbols and texts that surround us in our daily lives,” said co-creator Thy Than. “We’re very excited for families to watch and play with Phoebe and Jay together.”
“Growing up, my brother and I were fortunate to have a strong role model in our Grandma Annie who helped raise us, and who also showed us how to think in terms of respect and resilience. Similarly, our show models executive function skills like impulse control, which encourages children to stop and think when frustrated solving a problem, and flexible thinking when switching between tasks. These strategies are crucial to teaching pre-literacy,” said co-creator Genie Deez.
In addition to new episodes, Phoebe and Jay’s Dance Party game will debut on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Games app in tandem with the series launch. Players will help the twins get ready for themed dance parties by finding inspiration at the Pass-It-On table, making posters, sorting party outfits by size, dressing up, and learning special dance moves. Additional games will continue to roll out and will be available in both English and Spanish. Resources for parents and teachers will be available on PBS KIDS for Parents and PBS LearningMedia.