List of local children's television series (United States)


The following is a list of local children's television shows in the United States. These were locally produced commercial television programming intended for the child audience with unique hosts and themes. This type of programming began in the late 1940s and continued into the late 1970s; some shows continued into the 1990s. Author Tim Hollis documented about 1,400 local children's shows in a 2002 book, Hi There, Boys and Girls!
The television programs typically aired in the weekday mornings before school or afternoons after school as well as on weekends. There were different formats. Almost all shows had a colorful host who assumed a persona such as a cowboy/cowgirl, captain/skipper/commodore/admiral, jungle explorer, astronaut, king, princess, clown, sheriff/deputy/trooper, cop, firefighter, hobo/tramp, railroad engineer, magician, "cousin", "grandfather" or "uncle", whose role was not only to be the "DJ" for syndicated material but also to entertain, often with a live television studio audience of kids, during breaks.
Early program fare included cartoon favorites such as Koko the Clown, Daffy Duck, Crusader Rabbit, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Mighty Mouse, Porky Pig, Deputy Dawg, Tin Tin, Mel-O-Toons, Woody Woodpecker, The Funny Company, Mr. Magoo, Space Angel and Clutch Cargo as well as movie shorts such as Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang/The Little Rascals and The Three Stooges and animated versions of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and The Three Stooges and live action shorts such as Diver Dan. Some included educational segments like the portraits of wildlife in Nature's Window.

Television broadcast markets

Alabama

Anniston

Anchorage

Phoenix

El Dorado/Monroe

Bakersfield

KGO

Denver

Hartford

District of Columbia

Washington

Fort Myers

Atlanta

Honolulu

:
KGU/KITV/KHVH :
KGMB :
KTRG :

Boise

Chicago

Quincy

Evansville

Cedar Rapids/Waterloo

Wichita

Bowling Green

Baton Rouge

Bangor

Baltimore

Boston

Detroit

Austin

Columbus

Joplin

Billings

Lincoln

/KGIN: Cartoon Corral

Scottsbluff

Nevada

Las Vegas

Manchester

Albuquerque

Albany/Schenectady

Asheville

Bismarck

Akron

WIMA-TV:

Oklahoma City

Eugene

Erie

Providence

Charleston

Rapid City

Chattanooga

Abilene

Howdy Doody 1951 Chester Howard
Little Rascals 1951 Chester Howard
Roy Rogers 1951. Chester Howard
Gene Autry. 1951. Chester Howard

Utah

Salt Lake City

Burlington

Norfolk/Portsmouth

Bellingham

Romper Room

Charleston/Huntington

Eau Claire

Casper