As promised, our moratorium on KPop Demon Hunters Gold Star nominations is over. And as expected, the film sailed to victory at the awards—winning both prizes it was up for, and capping it off with a bold, light-stick-waving performance. But who did we pick to nominate for their long-awaited Oscars victory? Netflix? Sony Pictures Animation? Read on to find out…

Fred Rogers Productions – It’s a beautiful day for YouTube. Mister Rogers is finally getting his own hub of episodes, clips and compilations managed by Dr. Seuss whisperer Little Dot Studios. For the first time on his own channel, the iconic kids TV creator will zip up his cardigan, change into his indoor shoes and talk about self-care, being generous and how to be a good friend—all lessons that today’s kids (and many adults) could benefit from learning. It’ll be interesting to see if Fred’s slow, gentle lessons from decades past still resonate in an algorithmically-paced world. We hope so. To paraphrase the late, great TV pioneer, “won’t YouTube be my neighbor?” 

Just Play – 
Just Play signed a deal 
with worldwide appeal: 
Dr. Seuss toys are looming—
some would say zooming! 
Plush! Figures! And more! 
(for good kids who do chores.) 
A retail rollout this year 
for the hatted Cat with no fear 
just in time for the movie—
which is sure to be goofy. 

Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans – After eight months of twisting the lyrics of “Golden” and “How It’s Done” into puns, we’re all out of new ways to describe KPop Demon Hunters‘ dominance over both kids’ and mainstream culture. After the project was sold for a song by Sony, the Oscar wins for animated feature and original song were the ultimate validation of co-directors Kang and Appelhans’ weird, irresistibly cool concept. But it doesn’t stop there—on top of the statuettes, the pair also won exclusive multi-year contracts with Netflix and an official KPDH 2 greenlight. Hopefully that means nobody ever calls their ideas too wild again, ’cause now that’s how they’re gettin’ paid. (Dang, it happened again!)

PBS KIDS – When all of its federal funding was yanked by the US government last year, PBS KIDS had to go on a media blitz to remind the industry that they’re not going away. One group that got the message? The Peabody Awards, which is honoring the kids pubcaster with a special Institutional prize that it reserves only for the most influential, game-changing media fixtures, like 60 Minutes and the Today show. The award is both a brilliant political subtweet and a reminder that it’s never been more important to support safe, nourishing, free programming for kids everywhere.

Wanda Studios – It’s not just underwater worlds—the adorable Octonauts are exploring new franchise extensions and platform partnerships, too. After finally sorting out all those legal broadsides with Sony, China’s Wanda Studios is now the sole operator and global rights holder of the hit preschool brand. With full ownership status, the studio is already charting a new course for the IP—laying out strategies to ramp up consumer products, games and live experiences (like a meet-and-greet tour this year to make waves in core markets like APAC and the US). The show has a huge YouTube audience, too, with two-billion-plus views—which is yet another stream for Wanda to splash around in.

So who had the best week in the bunch? Vote before 8 a.m. ET on Monday to let us know what you think:

Want to pitch us a Gold Star nomination? Send an email to submissions@kidscreen.com by noon on Thursdays. And check back every Friday for our next batch of nominees. Hope to see you on the list!