Biz Kid$

Biz Kid$ (stylized as biz KID$) is an educational television/sketch comedy/variety show that teaches financial education and entrepreneurship to kids and teenagers. It uses sketch comedy, musical guests, guest and special guest appearances, and young actors to explain basic economic concepts.[1] Its motto is: "Where kids teach kids about money and business." Biz Kid$ has been described as comparable to KING-TV’s Almost Live!, CBC Television’s Street Cents, KING-TV’s Watch This!, and The Mickey Mouse Club.

Biz Kids
StarringLauren Dupree,
Kaelon Horst,
Maia Lee,
Alexander Oki,
Amanda Powers,
Miriam Schwartz,
Austin Siedentopf,
Devon Stark,
Christina Marie Taylor,
Catherine Thompson,
Elizabeth Wright,
Pat Cashman,
John Keister
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes71 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Jeannine Glista,
Erren Gottlieb,
Jamie Hammond,
James McKenna
Running time26 minutes
Production company(s)WXXI
DistributorAmerican Public Television
PBS Kids Go! (2008-2012)
PBS Kids (2017)
Release
Original releaseJanuary 6, 2008 –
June 20, 2017
External links
Website

Production

Biz Kid$ was created by the producers of Bill Nye the Science Guy, the Emmy Award winning science show from the 1990s. Comedy sketches, spoofs of old TV shows and movies, commercial parodies, and silly antics are performed by a cast of Seattle teenage actors.

The first season of Biz Kid$, comprising 26 episodes, includes the lost episodes, was filmed in 2007. The second season, comprising 13 episodes, the lost episodes were included, began filming in April 2008. The crew traveled to various locations in the United States to film young entrepreneurs. Holiday episodes on different holidays such as Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day, April Fools’ Day and other holidays.

Special Guest Stars

Cast

The Biz Kid$ cast is made up largely of teenage actors from the Seattle area. Writer John Keister also has small recurring roles.

The original cast members were Lauren Dupree, Kaelon Horst, Bob Jones, Maia Lee, Alexander Oki, Amanda Powers, Miriam Schwartz, Austin Siedentopf, Devon Stark, Christina Taylor, and Elizabeth Wright.[2]

The Biz Kid$ Hosts
  • Lauren (The Hip Hop Dancer), a teenage girl who has her two best pals Maia and Kaelon.
  • Kaelon (The Smooth and Suave Boy), Lauren’s best friend
  • Maia (The Friend Lover), Lauren’s second best friend, the youngest of Biz Kid$
  • Alex (The Language Speaker), He's like an older brother to Maia.
  • Amanda (The Attention Girl), Christina’s best friend
  • Miriam (The Funny People Laugher), one of Christina & Amanda’s best friends
  • Austin (The Pranker Boy), Alex’s best friend
  • Devon (The Tae Kwon Do Boy), the second-youngest of Biz Kid$
  • Christina (The Perfectionist), Amanda & Miriam’s best friend
  • Lizzie (The Creative Girl), another one of Christina & Amanda’s best friends
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References

There are references to TV shows and movies like Full House, Head of the Class, The Mickey Mouse Club, Laverne & Shirley, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Almost Live!, Small Wonder, Happy Days, Saved by the Bell, Step by Step, Family Matters, Three's Company, Wizards of Waverly Place, Punky Brewster, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Kids Incorporated, Blossom, Drake & Josh, All That, iCarly, That's So Raven, Hannah Montana and others.

Sketches
  • All My Investments, a parody of the soap opera on ABC, All My Children. Featured in two episodes "Saving and Investing for Your Future" and "Bulls, Bears and Financial Markets".
  • The No-Sale Zone, a parody of the television series The Twilight Zone. Featured in an episode "Sell, Sell, Sell (The Science of Sales)".
  • Mr. Squeezya Card, a commercial parody of the Visa card. Featured in an episode "Using Your Credit-Crazy or Compelling?".
  • As the Economy Turns and As the Budget Turns, both parodies of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. Featured in two episodes.
  • The Adventures of Compulsive and Compare Kid, Amanda and Miriam as two teenage girls to look at the newest phone ever. Featured in an episode "How to Be a Smart Consumer".
  • Banks of Our Lives, a parody of the soap opera on NBC, Days of Our Lives. Featured in an episode "Take it to the Bank!".
  • "Gus Greenback: Gumshoe Detective", a teen detective named Gus Greenback (Austin Siedentopf) has all the money clues to his friends, a pretty girl named Darla Dollar (Miriam Schwartz) and Gus Greenback's assistant Sergeant Sawbuck (Lauren DuPree) solving some entrepreneur files in 1940s Seattle, Washington.
  • Film, television spoofs, and other comedy sketches are featured in some episodes.

Lost Sketches
  • Northwest Afternoon: Kids and Teens Edition, a parody of the KOMO-TV talk show Northwest Afternoon, features Shana Dimpleton (Lauren DuPree), a spoof of Dana Middleton, Rick Troley (Kaelon Horst), a spoof of Dick Foley, and an entertainment buzz teenage girl, Lindsay Heinebart (Maia Lee), a spoof of Cindi Rinehart, “Queen of Soaps”.
  • Biz Kid$ Special Report, a sketch featuring different Biz Kid$ cast members anchoring different news from Western Washington. Pat Cashman, the announcer says, "We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for the following special report." And after this report, he says "We now join Biz Kid$ already in progress."
  • The N’s New Reality Show, a reality show parody on The N (now TeenNick) that features some pre-teens and teenagers who lives in a big apartment in Seattle.

"The N’s New Reality Show":

  • Tessa (Lauren DuPree), a pretty and great teenage girl.
  • Sally (Maia Lee), Tessa’s best friend.
  • Chad (Kaelon Horst), Tessa’s second best friend.
  • Brian (Alexander Oki), Jack’s younger brother.
  • Jack (Austin Siedentopf), Brian’s older brother.
  • Natalie (Miriam Schwartz), a wonderful teenage girl.
  • Rachel (Christina Taylor), Natalie’s best friend.
  • Kristen (Amanda Powers), Natalie’s second best friend.
  • Peter (Devon Stark), Tessa’s younger brother.
  • Annie (Elizabeth Wright), Tessa’s younger sister.

And other cast members that are featured in this sketch.

Other lost sketches are included.

5-Part Specials
  • Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1950s
  • Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1960s
  • Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1970s
  • Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1980s
  • Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1990s

Episodes

Broadcasting

Biz Kid$ is produced in association with WXXI of Rochester, NY, is distributed by American Public Television in the United States, and started airing in the United States on January 6, 2008. By June 2008, the show was on 311 of the nation's 343 PBS stations in 50 states.

It airs on KCTS-TV and KBTC-TV in Seattle and Tacoma.[3] By the launch of Season Two, Biz Kid$ was airing in all 50 states and was available to over 287 million people.[4]

Curriculum

A free curriculum is available for download for use by teachers and parents to use in classrooms, afterschool programs and at home.[5] Each episode has a specially designed curriculum with activities, reviews and tests, all of which comply with the National Endowment for Financial Education standards. Five core Biz Kid$ lesson plans are available in Spanish.

References
  1. Davila, Florangela. "PBS series features local business whiz kids Archived January 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", SeattleTimes.com. 17 February 2008.
  2. Biz Kid$ on IMDb
  3. http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/printer_version.php?story_id=36369 Archived November 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ""Biz Kid$", WALfeague.org". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-02-11.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  5. "Biz Kid$ Teacher Professional Development Kit", WXXI.org.
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