Bea’s Block Season 1
A new animated pre-school comedy series from the makers of Sesame Street that models kindness through friendship and empathy.
Press Release
Bea’s Block Debuts on Max February 15, 2024
(New York, NY, January 25, 2023) A kindness adventure is always around the corner on Bea’s Block, a brand-new comedic animated pre-school series from Sesame Workshop and Warner Bros. Discovery. Centering on compassionate and curious five-year-old Bea and her two best friends Ty and Lexi, the series features the trio modeling kindness through friendship and empathy. The vibrant characters are wooden blocks, which allow them to exhibit a unique physical humor as they zip, stack, and hop their way through their diverse and inclusive Blocktown neighborhood. Bea’s Block premieres on Max on February 15, 2024.
About the Show
Stroll Down the Block
Bea’s Block is a new animated pre-school comedy series from the makers of Sesame Street that models kindness through friendship and empathy. The characters are designed as animated wooden blocks who zip, stack, and hop, guaranteeing smiles throughout each episode.
Our lead character, Bea Mantilla, is a compassionate and curious five-year-old Mexican American girl who is figuring out what it takes to be a good friend. She can often be found in her backyard treehouse, along with her two best friends, Ty and Lexi, brainstorming ways to help others. This leads them on wacky “kindness adventures” around the diverse and inclusive neighborhood of Blocktown.
Whether it’s creating a “Blocketball” skills camp to help a friend learn how to play, searching for a lost chameleon to return to its owner, or hosting a surprise table tennis tournament, Bea and her friends transmit an irresistible energy that catapults our audience into stories that are fun and surprising. Join the Blocktown characters as they explore emotions such as sadness, disappointment, and excitement, all while learning ways to be kind and how to be good friends.
Music is important to Bea’s Block as each episode has multiple diverse musical moments that propel the story forward and drive home key beats. Whether it’s the Kindness Adventure ditty that Bea and her friends sing before they help others, the episode-specific songs that highlight different ways people can be kind, or the super infectious Bea’s Block theme song, kids will smile and dance while they learn and grow.
Curriculum
Promoting Kindness
Kindness is a learned behavior that develops when children see what it means to be kind and when kindness is modeled around them. It’s thinking about how others feel and engaging in helpful, caring behaviors, such as asking, “are you okay?” And it’s also about being reflective and showing gratitude to those who are kind to you. Bea’s Block depicts friends being kind to each other through everyday moments, observations, and the type of positive interactions that can help children develop important lifelong character skills, such as empathy, compassion, and respect.
Friendship
Friend relationships are a great way to promote kindness. Friendship skills, such as taking turns, trading, sharing, and playing fairly are important parts of being kind. Navigating friendships gives children opportunities to communicate, compromise, and create independence. Bea and her friends model making friends and maintaining friendships. Though the characters in this series come from different cultural backgrounds and have unique interests and personality traits—differences which could spark conflict—they are able to build caring friendships based on common interests and understanding and respecting one another’s needs.
Labeling & Identifying Emotions
Through viewing “kindness adventures,” children are encouraged to identify and label their own emotions and recognize the feelings of others. The series gives children the vocabulary to express their own feelings and helps them develop insight into strong emotions such as disappointment, nervousness, and excitement.
Lexi’s Parrot
Lexi’s Parrot
Lexi is excited to show her new parrot, Mr. Talky, to her friends but becomes sad when he doesn’t talk. Bea, Ty, and Lexi try different techniques to get Mr. Talky to talk, to just find that Mr. Talky only speaks Spanish!
Ty’s Superhero
Bea’s friend, Megan, wants to play Magnificent Block Buddies, but when Ty joins in as SuperZoom, Megan says he can’t play because Ty is Black and SuperZoom is white. Ty is hurt, and Bea takes on the role of an upstander, explaining to Megan why what she said to Ty was wrong. After Megan apologizes, the kids reunite as the Magnificent Block Buddies and tackle their first mission—helping Marcos build a playset.
Playground Park-itects
Bea, Ty, and Danny are excited when Luisa invites them to visit City Hall to work on a secret project—Blocktown’s new playground! But when they see it, they realize that Danny isn’t able to use most of the playground because he uses a wheelchair. Alongside engineer Winston, the kids work together to make a play structure that is bigger, better, and, most importantly, inclusive and fun for all children.
Danny’s Unicorn
At a neighborhood yard sale, Danny connects with a sparkly plush unicorn among the for-sale items. But when Sam notes that it’s a “girl toy,” Danny places it back in the box and feels sad. Bea thinks it shouldn’t matter if the toy Danny wants is a “girl toy” because a toy is just a toy and you like what you like—and the kids agree! After learning that the sparkly unicorn got sold, the chase is on to find the buyer and help Danny get his unicorn once and for all.
This is Me
Mr. K assigns self-portraits to the class, so Bea, Ty, and Lexi zip to the treehouse to get to work! But when they can’t find any paint that matches the different colors of their skin, they go to Mr. K, Marcos, and Grandma Vi for ideas. The kids learn all about the power of melanin, the reason their skin is so beautiful. With a little help from Grandma Vi’s paint invention, they create the best paint mixtures for their self-portraits!
El Ratoncito and the Tooth Fairy
Bea and Lexi both lose a tooth at the same time! Lexi is excited for the Tooth Fairy to come, while Bea believes that El Ratoncito Perez will come. They zip to their parents and are relieved to learn that both girls are right! The girls prepare treats to welcome the Tooth Fairy and El Ratoncito and head to bed. They wake up delighted when they find that both magical creatures visited them in the night and left them special gifts!
Danny Learns Mandarin
Sam has been learning Mandarin with Gung Gung and is excited to show Bea and Danny when they come over for a playdate. Sam tries teaching them to count to five in Mandarin, but Danny has never learned another language and struggles. Sam leads them in a series of games to make Danny more comfortable. By the time lunch is served, Danny has a new appreciation for languages and even learns to say thank you in Mandarin!
Behind the Scenes
Talent Bios
Everly Carganilla
Eight-year-old Everly Carganilla developed her love for acting and music at an incredibly young age and has never looked back. She began her career when she was just a baby, working on Jane the Virgin as baby Jane in flashbacks. She went on to appear in several commercials as well as performed on stage singing and telling jokes at “Paulie’s Picnic” events in Orange County. Her big break came at the age of 5 when she booked a lead opposite Jennifer Garner in the Netflix feature Yes Day. In the film, she plays the youngest daughter to Garner and Edgar Ramirez who decide to give their three kids a “yes day”, where for 24 hours the kids make the rules. In 2020, she booked a recurring role in the murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty for Apple + starring Tiffany Haddish. Once she wrapped, she went directly on to film The Chair where she plays daughter to Sandra Oh in the Netflix series. Carganilla does a lot of voice -over work as well. She plays the title role in the Sesame Workshop and Warner Bros. Discovery project, Bea’s Block and just recently worked on a John Lasseter project from Skydance animation. Carganilla is presently working and starring in a new Netflix feature film which should be announced shortly. When not on set, Carganilla’s favorite things to do include playing with her baby brother Noah, pretending to be a superhero, cooking with her mommy, and playing the piano.
Lena Josephine Marano
Lena Josephine Marano was born and raised in New Jersey. At age five, she took the stage in a community theatre production and never looked back. She has performed in numerous regional and community theatre. She has also performed in cabarets. As a professional actor, Marano appeared in the Netflix series Archive 81. She filmed an independent film Mabel directed by Nicholas Ma. She has starred in various short films. Marano has also voiced Arby’s commercials. As a voice actor, she plays Lexi and Ricky in Bea’s Block. She also voices Twin Mermaid Violet in Santiago of the Seas. Marano ‘s voice acting include the upcoming animation feature JG and the BC Kids and two characters in a new animation series. Marano loves to sing and writes her own original music. Her original song You Can Shine is on streaming platforms. She is also learning piano and violin. Marano is an avid reader and has won her school reading book challenge two years in a row. She loves to travel and see new places. She also likes DIY projects, drawing, and soccer. Marano loves animals and helps care for her English Bulldog, leopard gecko and neighborhood cat.
Zai Stevens
Zai Stevens is a 10-year-old Connecticut native who currently voices Ty in Bea’s Blocks. Other recent credits include The Colbert Show, The Equalizer, Good Morning America, and the feature film, We Are Unsatisfied. In addition, Stevens can also be spotted in Burlington Coat Factory and Parent.com ads, in addition to many other commercials and print campaigns. When he is not in the recording booth, Stevens spends his time singing, drawing, or painting.
Production Bios
Kay Wilson Stallings – Executive Producer and EVP, Creative and Productio
Olexa Hewryk – Executive Producer and VP, Animation Production
Elizabeth Keyishian – Co-Executive Producer and Head Writer
Jordan Geary – Supervising Creative Producer and Senior Director, Current Series Production
Melanie Grisanti – Supervising Producer and SVP, Production Management
Alia Nakashima – Supervising Producer and Senior Director, Production Management
Richard Ritter – Creative Producer
Mark Purdy – Story Editor
Monica Graham – Producer
Rosemarie T. Truglio, PH.D – SVP, Curriculum and Content
Ivelisse Segui-Baez, Ph.D. – Curriculum & Content Consultant
