Biz Kids

Biz Kids
StarringLauren Dupree,
Kaelon Horst,
Maia Lee,
Alexander Oki,
Amanda Powers,
Miriam Schwartz,
Austin Siedentopf,
Devon Stark,
Christina Marie Taylor,
Catherine Thompson,[citation needed]
Elizabeth Wright,
Pat Cashman,
John Keister
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes71
Production
Executive producersJeannine Glista,
Erren Gottlieb,
Jamie Hammond,
James McKenna
Running time26 minutes
Production companyWXXI
Original release
NetworkLocal PBS stations (2008-2017)
ReleaseJanuary 6, 2008 (2008-01-06) –
June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20)

Biz Kids (stylized as biz KID$) is an American educational television series that teaches financial education and entrepreneurship to kids and teenagers. It uses sketch comedy, musical guests, guest and special guest appearances, and young actors to explain basic economic concepts. Its motto is "Where kids teach kids about money and business." Biz Kids has been described as comparable to KING-TV's Almost Live!,[who?] and is similar in format to CBC Television's Street Cents.

Production

Biz Kids was created by the producers (Bill Nye the Science Guy), the Emmy Award winning science show from the 1990s. Comedy sketches, spoofs of mostly old TV shows and movies, commercial parodies, and silly antics are performed by a cast of Seattle teenage actors. Jamie Hammond served as executive producer. Jeannine Glista served as a co-producer.

Cast

The Biz Kids cast is made up largely of teenage actors from the Seattle area. Writer John Keister also has small recurring roles.[citation needed]

Biz Kids is about a group of high school teenagers and one middle school preteen teaching kids about money and others, and they have also been friends since childhood (preschool to high school).[citation needed]

The original cast members were Lauren Dupree, Kaelon Horst, Bob Jones, Maia Lee, Alexander Oki, Amanda Powers, Miriam Schwartz, Austin Siedentopf, Devon Stark, Christina Taylor, and Elizabeth Wright.

Hosts

Guest stars

Sketches

Lost Sketches

The Curse of Mercer Street, The Haunted Studio, and other Halloween sketches.

Broadcasting

Biz Kids is produced in association with WXXI of Rochester, NY, and is distributed by American Public Television in the United States. It started airing on local PBS stations on January 6, 2008. Shortly after launching, the show achieved a reach of 118 million households, and by June 2008, the show was airing on 311 of 343 PBS stations. By early 2009, the show was broadcast on 334 PBS stations, accounting for 97% of public television channels in the United States. After six seasons, the show concluded on June 20, 2017. As of 2024, reruns continue to air on select PBS stations, and the series is also aired on commercial broadcast syndication.[citation needed]

The show also aired in the United Kingdom on the Simply Money channel and also aired in Canada on the Knowledge Network.[citation needed]

Curriculum

A free curriculum is available for download for use by teachers and parents to use in classrooms, afterschool programs and at home. Each episode has a specially designed curriculum with activities, reviews and tests, all of which comply with the National Endowment for Financial Education standards. Five core Biz Kids lesson plans are available in Spanish.

Reception

According to the scholar Renee Hobbs, Biz Kids employs "a clever blend of entertainment and education" and gives "a fast-paced mix that includes actors, sketch comedies, animation, and feature stories featuring young entrepreneurs". In a positive review, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media called the series "a great choice" for parents to watch with their children, stating that the children in the series could teach the adults valuable money lessons. She concluded, "Corny though some of the playful content might seem to the grown-ups, it's nonetheless effective in getting its messages about fiscal responsibility across to kids." The Seattle Times writer Florangela Davila stated, "From its funky theme song to the wacky sketches, the tone is Nyesque, which is to say: hip, zany and smart."

References

  1. 1 2 Davila, Florangela (February 17, 2008). "PBS series features local business whiz kids". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2009.
  2. ↑ Miller, Chris (January 28, 2008). "Credit union foundation underwrites PBS' Biz Kids". Hudson Valley Business Journal. Vol. 19, no. 4. p. 28. ISSN 1050-1096. EBSCOhost 28788307.
  3. ↑ Tsai, Luke (May 26, 2015). "New Web Series Aims to Bring Urban Homesteading to a Mainstream Audience". East Bay Express. Archived from the original on March 30, 2026. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  4. ↑ Biz Kids at IMDb
  5. ↑ "Bringing Back More Fun Financial Literacy in Season Two!" (PDF). aptonline.org. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  6. ↑ "BIZ KID$ American Public Television". aptonline.org. May 26, 2012. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  7. ↑ "CUNA News Home Page". www.cuna.org. Archived from the original on November 29, 2008.
  8. ↑ ""Biz Kid$", WALfeague.org". Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "Biz Kid$ Teacher Professional Development Kit", WXXI.org.
  10. ↑ Hobbs, Renee (2022). "Capitalists, Consumers, and Communicators: How Schools Approach Civic Education". In Gordon, Eric; Mihailidis, Paul (eds.). Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. p. 361. doi:10.7551/mitpress/9970.003.0029. ISBN 978-0-262-03427-2. Retrieved March 30, 2026 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Ashby, Emily (October 1, 2025). "Parents' Guide to Biz Kid$". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on March 30, 2026. Retrieved March 30, 2026.