''Raggs'' is a live-action/animated TV series for children about five dogs that form a

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

band called The Raggs Band. There are 195 half hour episodes and 200 original songs in multiple languages. It was originally produced in Sydney, Australia, with additional production in the United States in English and Spanish. It was broadcast in the United States on February 4, 2008 on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

. In 2014, The Raggs Band reunited to record 20 classic kids' songs.

Broadcast

Raggs began broadcasting on SABC 2 in South Africa on 7 May 2018. "Raggs" recently aired in the US and Canada on Smile,

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

, and in Latin America on FETV Canal-Panama, RTV-Ecuador, Canal Dos-El Salvador, Guest Choice Cable-Dominican Republic and Corporación Televicentro-Honduras. "Raggs" YouTube channel, RaggsTV, hosts short episodes and animations to classic kids' songs.

History

''Raggs'' was originally created in 1990 by U.S. advertising executive Toni Steedman for her 6-year-old daughter, Alison, as a series of carpool stories. Steedman later used the Raggs characters for a regional mall promotion and advertising campaign. By 2001, the successful mall programs encouraged Steedman, along with former

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

producer Carole Rosen, to create a one-hour music video-inspired pilot called "Pawsuuup," which was shot in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, and

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in August 2001. While Steedman shopped the pilot for a production or broadcast partner, ''The Raggs Band'' (also known as the ''Raggs Kids' Club Band'' because of the regional mall kids' clubs for which Raggs served as mascot) began playing concerts at fairs, festivals and performing arts venues. In 2005, Steedman and her company, Raggs LLC, entered into a co-production relationship with Southern Star International (now Endemol Australia) to produce the ''Raggs'' series for the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Production began in 2005 using

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at the ABC Studios in Sydney, and the first episode of Series 1 began airing daily at 9 am on Seven in January 2006. Series 1 consisted of 65 half hours episodes. ''Raggs'' quickly garnered strong ratings and, within a few months of airing, Seven ordered Series 2, an additional 65 episodes. In 2007, Seven ordered Series 3, also 65 episodes, bringing the total to 195 original half hours by 2009. Each episode featured original ''Raggs’'' music, written and produced in the U.S. by Concentrix Music and Sound Design, requiring over 200 original songs for the 195 half hours of shows. Southern Star distributed ''Raggs'' to several countries including Singapore, Bulgaria, South Africa and India. In the U.S., Steedman worked to establish ''Raggs'' on public television.

KQED KQED may refer to: * KQED (TV), a PBS member station in San Francisco * KQED-FM KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a NPR-member radio station in San Francisco, California. Its parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns its television partners, both ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

signed on as the presenting station in association with American Public Television, and ''Raggs'' began airing on public TV stations in 2007. In January 2010, Steedman reacquired Southern Star’s distribution and licensing rights under Blue Socks Media LLC. Blue Sock Media LLC, completing a complete consolidation of the worldwide assets, later purchased Raggs LLC. Steedman continues to head Blue Socks Media in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. In July 2012,

, the NBC-owned Spanish language network, licensed 120 episodes of ''Raggs'' in Spanish. ''Raggs'' aired on Telemundo Saturdays at 8 am ET and Sundays at 8 and 8:30 am ET. The Raggs characters are used at Grand Palladium family-friendly resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico to host the kids program, "Play at Palladium with Raggs." Features include a Live Show, disco party, and character breakfast.

Palace Theatre 2004

Throughout 2004, the band starred in a 90-minute performance at The Palace Theatre in Myrtle Beach, alongside comic strip cat Garfield. The performances focused on the RAGGS Kids Club Band planning a birthday party for the famous orange cat. Suspecting things, Garfield "won't relax until he gets the surprise".

RAGGS Kids Club Band: PAWSUUUP! Tour

A DVD was released 17 August 2004, featuring in-concert performances of seven of the band's songs, and three "music videos". The 55-minute-long program was produced by Linda Mendoza (''

The Chris Rock Show ''The Chris Rock Show'' was a weekly, Friday night, late-night talk show featured on HBO. It was created by comedian and namesake Chris Rock and featured various guests. The show won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program i ...

'') of Line by Line Productions, and executive produced by Carole Rosen. The crew included screenwriter

Mark Valenti Mark Valenti is an Emmy-nominated American writer known for movies, TV series and novels. Career biography Valenti began his entertainment career as an actor with the St. Louis theatrical troupe, The City Players. Moving to Los Angeles, he st ...

('' Rugrats'', '' Hey Arnold!'', '' Totally Spies!''), lighting designer Alan Adelman (75+ episodes of '' Great Performances'', ''

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

''), music producers Fred and Becky Story (Concentrix Music & Sound), costume designer "Greyseal", and choreographer Hardin Minor (National Dance Institute). The DVD earned 3.5 out of 4 stars from Suite 101 Family Entertainment film critic Nicholas Moreau, tied for the highest ever rating for an independently produced DVD. The music from the tour was later released as a CD album.

''Raggs'' Live Around the World

The Raggs Band has played more than 2,000 live performances in four continents. In the U.S., Raggs has performed at many state fairs, basketball games, regional malls, national fundraisers such as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, and parades. Overseas, the Raggs Band has performed at U.S. military bases in Japan, South Korea, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Iceland. In Australia, the Raggs Band performed at Westfield Malls and was one of two children's acts to perform on ''

Carols in the Domain Carols in the Domain is an annual Australian Christmas concert event held in the Domain Gardens in Sydney. It began in 1983, and features many national and international performers and guest appearances. It a free event, broadcast around Austral ...

'', a nationally televised live musical show.

Episodes

Series 1 (2006–2008)

Series 2 (2008–2009)

References

External links

*
Raggs.com.au

''Raggs''
at Blue Socks Media * * {{Authority control Seven Network original programming English-language television shows Animated television series about dogs Television series by Endemol Australia American children's animated musical television series 2006 Australian television series debuts 2008 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian animated television series 2008 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings American children's musical groups 2000s American animated television series 2000s American children's television series Australian children's animated musical television series American preschool education television series American television series with live action and animation American television shows featuring puppetry Australian preschool education television series Australian television series with live action and animation Australian television shows featuring puppetry PBS Kids shows Australian children's musical groups 2000s preschool education television series