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

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

band called The Raggs Band. There are 196 half hour episodes and 200 original songs in multiple languages. It was originally produced in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, with additional production in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in English and Spanish. It was first broadcast in Australia on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

on January 2, 2006. In 2014, The Raggs Band reunited to record 20 classic kid's songs.

Broadcast

In the United States, ''Raggs'' first aired with a limited release of 26 episodes on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations in select markets beginning June 1, 2007. Later,

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepen ...

introduced a nationwide broadcast release, which began distribution to additional

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

stations on February 4, 2008. The first 60 episodes aired as Season 1, and the next thirteen episodes aired as Season 2 beginning February 2, 2009, with reruns continuing until February 1, 2014. ''Raggs'' aired in the U.S. and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...

, V-me, and

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

. It aired in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

on FETV Canal-Panama, RTV-Ecuador, Canal Dos-El Salvador, Guest Choice Cable-Dominican Republic and Corporación Televicentro-Honduras. ''Raggs'' began broadcasting on

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks. As ...

in South Africa on May 7, 2018. ''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 pay television service, 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 based a ...

producer Carole Rosen, to create a one-hour

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

-inspired

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

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 ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was a major Australian independent television production, distribution, and syndication com ...

) to produce the ''Raggs'' series for the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Production began in 2005 using Alias Maya 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. In March 2007,

, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

-owned Spanish language network, and V-me, the public Spanish Language network owned by

and by its own company V-me Media Inc., licensed 144 episodes of ''Raggs'' in Spanish. 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

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

signed on as the presenting station in association with

, and ''Raggs'' began airing on public TV stations in 2007 in select markets and in 2008 nationwide. 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 List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. 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 ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

''. 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 of Line by Line Productions and executive produced by Carole Rosen. The crew included screenwriter Mark Valenti (''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

'', ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Craig Bartlett for Nickelodeon. It originally aired from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner ...

'', '' Totally Spies!''), lighting designer Alan Adelman (75+ episodes of ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

'', ''

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

''), 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 US, 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 American 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 is a free event, broadcast around Aus ...

'', 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 2006 American animated television series debuts 2009 American television series endings American children's musical groups 2000s American animated television series 2000s American children's comedy television series 2000s American musical comedy television series 2006 Australian television series debuts 2008 Australian television series endings 2000s Australian animated television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated musical television series American computer-animated television series American preschool education television series American television series with live action and animation American television shows featuring puppetry Animated preschool education television series Animated television series about dogs Fictional quintets Australian children's animated comedy television series Australian children's animated musical television series Australian computer-animated television series Australian preschool education television series Australian television series with live action and animation Australian television shows featuring puppetry American English-language television shows Australian English-language television shows PBS Kids shows Australian children's musical groups 2000s preschool education television series Television series by Endemol Shine Australia First-run syndicated animated television series Children's television series about talking animals