The Electric Company (2009 TV series)

The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series produced by Sesame Workshop and created by Karen Fowler. This version is a reboot of the original 1971 series with the same title. It originally ran on PBS Kids from January 23, 2009, to April 4, 2011, with reruns continuing on PBS until August 31, 2014. Reruns also aired on HBO Kids on HBO Family from January 1, 2016, to November 1, 2020, as part of an agreement between HBO and Sesame Workshop. On certain platforms, the series is referred to as The New Electric Company to differentiate it from the 1971–1977 show.

The show features short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos similar to the original, but each episode also includes a storyline designed to teach four to five vocabulary words, accompanied by hip-hop or contemporary R&B-style music. The stories center on the Electric Company, a group of tween and teen literacy heroes who combat a group of neighborhood troublemakers called the Pranksters. Their base of operations is the Electric Diner, where their friend Shock, a beatboxing short-order cook, appears in both the main story and short-form segments. As a nod to the original series, each episode opens with a Company member calling the others to assemble by shouting "Hey, you guys!"—a line famously used by Rita Moreno in the original show's opening sequences for seasons two, five, and six. In the episode "Scrambled Brains," Annie delivers this line because her character has swapped bodies with Lisa. Other references to the original include updated versions of the soft-shoe silhouette segments where words are sounded out. The revival also includes interactive web elements and is promoted through community-outreach projects. The first season had 28 weekly episodes. A second season of twelve episodes began airing on January 18, 2010. A third season debuted on February 7, 2011, and ended on April 4, 2011, introducing new Company member Marcus and new Prankster Gilda. In later airings, the segment where Jessica announces the five words was omitted, with episodes going straight into the story.

The Electric Company consists of five friends who protect the neighborhood from the Pranksters. They all can throw wordballs—blue magical balls that create words on any surface—and each member has a unique skill.