Percy the Panda is an American animated educational children's television series created by Alan Zaslove and Tad Stones. It centers on the adventures of the Panda Gang, a group of friendly anthropomorphic animals who educate children via educational messages, playdates, and popular songs, led by a friendly, kind, huggable, and optimistic giant panda, who live on Panda Playground, a playground in Indianopolis. The show first aired on PBS on April 30, 1990, and airs on PBS Kids. Seasons 1 through 14 of the series were made with traditional animation, while season 15 onwards used computer animation, and the series has been animated in CGI ever since.
Upon release, Percy the Panda received positive reviews for its characters, educational value, and soundtrack, and was nominated for several awards. It was also met with many views and is one of the most popular animated TV shows. The success led to a franchise consisting of home videos, movies, and merchandise. In October 1997, the Percy the Panda franchise drew the attention of Lyrick Studios, the producers of Barney & Friends, who agreed to acquire and purchase the rights to the franchise and did so two months later. After Lyrick was bought by and folded into Hit Entertainment in 2001, Hit acquired Lyrick's ownership of Barney and Percy the Panda. Since 2012, the franchise has been owned by Mattel, who purchased Hit and its properties as a whole that same year.
Episodes[]
- Main article: List of Percy the Panda episodes
Series overview[]
| Season | Number of episodes | Original airdates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||
| 1 | 25 | April 30, 1990 | November 30, 1990 |
| 2 | 21 | July 1, 1991 | November 1, 1991 |
| 3 | 27 | May 18, 1992 | December 18, 1992 |
| 4 | 29 | May 3, 1993 | December 3, 1993 |
| 5 | 27 | April 18, 1994 | July 8, 1994 |
| 6 | 22 | January 30, 1995 | November 17, 1995 |
| 7 | 27 | May 6, 1996 | December 20, 1996 |
| 8 | 29 | May 5, 1997 | December 5, 1997 |
| 9 | 21 | June 8, 1998 | October 2, 1998 |
| 10 | 27 | July 5, 1999 | December 17, 1999 |
| 11 | 22 | July 18, 2000 | December 15, 2000 |
| 12 | 25 | May 21, 2001 | December 21, 2001 |
| 13 | 27 | April 22, 2002 | August 2, 2002 |
| 14 | 22 | January 13, 2003 | March 14, 2003 |
| 15 | 27 | June 7, 2004 | December 17, 2004 |
| 15 | 25 | July 25, 2005 | November 25, 2005 |
| 17 | 22 | July 31, 2006 | November 17, 2006 |
| 18 | 29 | May 7, 2007 | December 7, 2007 |
| 19 | 25 | April 28, 2008 | November 28, 2008 |
| 20 | 27 | May 18, 2009 | November 20, 2009 |
| 21 | 25 | May 10, 2010 | December 10, 2010 |
| 22 | 21 | July 11, 2011 | November 11, 2011 |
| 23 | 22 | July 2, 2012 | November 2, 2012 |
| 24 | 25 | June 3, 2013 | December 6, 2013 |
| 25 | 29 | June 30, 2014 | October 31, 2014 |
| 26 | 27 | May 25, 2015 | December 4, 2015 |
| 27 | 22 | May 30, 2016 | November 25, 2016 |
| 28 | 27 | July 3, 2017 | October 27, 2017 |
| 29 | 22 | January 8, 2018 | March 9, 2018 |
| 30 | 25 | February 18, 2019 | July 19, 2019 |
| 31 | 22 | January 20, 2020 | March 6, 2020 |
| 32 | 21 | May 31, 2021 | October 1, 2021 |
| 33 | 22 | May 2, 2022 | December 2, 2022 |
| 34 | 25 | May 1, 2023 | November 17, 2023 |
| 35 | 29 | June 24, 2024 | October 11, 2024 |
| 36 | 22 | January 20, 2025 | April 25, 2025 |
Characters and voice actors[]
- Percy the Panda:
- Steve Schatzberg (1989-2008)
- James Patrick Stewart (2008-present)
- Parker the Penguin
- Will Ryan (1989-2021)
- Eric Bauza (2021-present)
- Delilah the Koala
- Mary Kay Bergman (1989-1999)
- Diane Michelle (2000-2010)
- Kari Wahlgren (2010-present)
- Richard the Rabbit
- Cheese the Mouse
- Debi Derryberry
- Bill the Rhino
- Maurice LaMarche