Biz Kids

Starring	Lauren Dupree, Kaelon Horst, Maia Lee, Alexander Oki, Amanda Powers, Miriam Schwartz, Austin Siedentopf, Devon Stark, Christina Marie Taylor, Catherine Thompson,^{[citation needed]} Elizabeth Wright, Pat Cashman, John Keister
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	71 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jeannine Glista, Erren Gottlieb, Jamie Hammond, James McKenna
Running time	26 minutes
Production company	WXXI
Distributor	American Public Television PBS Kids Go! (2008-2012) PBS Kids (2017)
Release
Original release	January 6, 2008 (2008-01-06) – June 20, 2017 (2017-06-20)
External links
Website

Biz Kid$ (stylized as biz KID$) is an American educational television series that teaches financial education and entrepreneurship to kids and teenagers. It uses sketch comedy, musical guests, guest and special guest appearances, and young actors to explain basic economic concepts.^[1] Its motto is: "Where kids teach kids about money and business." Biz Kid$ has been described as comparable to KING-TV’s Almost Live!.

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.

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. She is a 17-year-old girl at Seattle Academy, because she loves theater, dance, and music. She is Lizzie’s adoptive older sister. The show ended when Lauren was 21 years old and she graduated from college, By the sixth season she was a 30 something woman.
Kaelon (The Smooth and Suave Boy), Lauren’s best friend, He is a 17-year-old guy at South Kitsap High School where he loves to play basketball. He is smooth and suave and he is Austin’s adopted brother. He is a leader of Kaelon's Ladies with his ladies Lauren and Maia. The show ended when Kaelon was 21 years old and he graduated from college in L.A. By the sixth season he was a 30 something man.
Maia (The Friend Lover), Lauren’s second-best friend, the youngest of Biz Kid$. She is a 14-year-old girl at her school where she loves shopping, music and friends. She’s like a younger sister to Alex. She was ended by the third season when Maia was 16.
Alex (The Language Speaker), He is a 17-year-old guy at Lakeside School where he’s learning different languages. He's like an older brother to Maia. He is a leader of Alex's Girls with his female friends Amanda, Miriam and Christina. The show ended when Alex was 21 years old and he graduated from Yale University. By the sixth season he was a 30 something man.
Amanda (The Attention Girl), She is an 18-year-old girl at her school when she is friendly and outgoing. She is Christina’s best friend.
Miriam (The Funny People Laugher), She is a 17-year-old girl at Roosevelt High School where she makes people laugh. She is one of Christina & Amanda’s best friends. She’s like a sister to Alex and Maia. The show ended when Miriam was 21 years old and she graduated from college in Minnesota. By the sixth season she was in her mid 20s. She got married to her friend Adam in Oregon in the future.
Austin (The Pranker Boy), He is a 16-year-old guy at Issaquah High School where he enjoys teaching with kids. He is Alex’s best friend. He is Kaelon’s adopted brother. The show ended when Austin was 20 years old and he graduated from the University of Washington.
Devon (The Tae Kwon Do Boy), He is a 12-year-old 7th grader at his middle school where he enjoys karate and taekwondo. He is the second-youngest of Biz Kid$. He is Lauren and Lizzie’s adoptive younger brother. The show ended when Devon was 16.
Christina (The Perfectionist), She is a teenage girl with her glasses from her school where is she is the perfectionist. Amanda & Miriam’s best friend. The show ended when she was a young adult, she lost a couple of pounds from her weight loss and her diet and exercises and she graduated from college.
Lizzie (The Creative Girl), She is a teenage girl from her high school who loves to make clothes, prom dresses and others. She is another one of Christina & Amanda’s best friends. She is Lauren’s adoptive younger sister. The show ended when she was a young adult and graduated from college.

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 popular rich girl named Darla Dollar (Miriam Schwartz) and his assistant Sergeant Sawbuck (Lauren DuPree) solving some entrepreneur files during the mid to late 1940s and early 1950s in Seattle.
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 Trolley (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 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 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.

Biz Kid$ Fairy Tales, a sketch featuring different Biz Kid$ cast members reading financial fairytales like Snow White and The Money Giving Things to The Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella's Beautiful Boutique and more fairytales.

Other fairytales the Biz Kid$ cast members that can read are:

Little Red Riding Hood and The Piggy Bank
Hansel and Gretel in a Money House
Jack and the Beanstalk Finds a Credit Union

And other fairytales.

The Dundedees, a family who sings some songs about money that played at Seattle Children’s Theatre and

they are telling jokes about money and finances. Papa Dundeedee with his wife and their eight children.

Papa Dundeedee (Pat Cashman) - the leader of his family called The Dundeedees.
Mama Dundeedee (special guest star Tracey Conway) - the wife of Papa Dundeedee.
Danny Dundeedee (Austin Siedentopf) - the son of the Dundeedees.
Betty Jo Dundeedee (Amanda Powers) - the daughter of the Dundeedees.
Bobby Dundeedee (Alexander Oki) - the son of the Dundeedees.
Cindy Lou Dundeedee (Miriam Schwartz) - the daughter of the Dundeedees.
Susie Dundeedee (Maia Lee) - the daughter of the Dundeedees.
Finley Dundeedee (Kaelon Horst) - the son of the Dundeedees.
Jessie Dundeedee (Lauren DuPree) - the adopted daughter of the Dundeedees.
Robbie Dundeedee (Devon Stark) - the adopted son of the Dundeedees.

And other cast members play the rest of the Dundeedee family. Other lost sketches are included.

Lost Spoofs

Mercer Street Love & Hopefuls, a sketch similar to Degrassi, Beverly Hills, 90210, The O.C., One Tree Hill and other teen dramas. It follows the life of teenager Kristen Pickett (Lauren DuPree) and her two best friends Lisa Cheng (Maia Lee) and Billy Keller (Kaelon Horst) who can meet with their friends at the fictional Misty Parks Academy in Seattle.
The Deal World, a parody of the reality show The Real World, where nine teenagers and one pre-teen who hang out at the KCTS 9 studio lot and start telling secrets about what's their deal. The opening line is "This is the true story of ten Biz Kids picked to live in a studio lot, work together, and have their lives taped. Find out what happens when people start being polite and start getting a deal... The Deal World.
Biznatural, a parody of the TV show Supernatural, where two brothers, younger brother Cam (Austin Siedentopf) and older brother Eugene Bizchester (Kaelon Horst), a parody of Sam and Dean Winchester, where they look at the money ghosts and other things With their friends Kelly (Maia Lee), her older brother Jason (Alexander Oki), Zack (Devon Stark), his older sister Jessica (Lauren DuPree), his younger sister Angela (Elizabeth Wright), Samantha (Amanda Powers), her best friends Denise (Miriam Schwartz) and Bethany (Christina Taylor), and other cast members are in the sketch.
Teen Cops, a parody of the show called Cops, where teen cops looking at the victims of mysteries about money and other things.

Other lost spoofs are included.

5-part specials

Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1950s, an episode where they take place in the 1950s, where they have preppies, greasers and poodle-skirt girls.
Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1960s, an episode where they take place in the 1960s, where they have hippies, mod girls and others.
Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1970s, an episode where they take place in the 1970s, where they have disco people, punk rockers, hippies and other people.
Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1980s, an episode where they take place in the 1980s, where they have valley girls, punk rockers, and other people.
Biz Kid$: Through the Years - The 1990s, an episode where they take place in the 1990s, where they have Spice Girl-style girls, grunge rockers, hip hop people, and other people.

Episodes

Main article: List of Biz Kid$ 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

External links

Former PBS Kids original programming

Former PBS Kids original programming
1960s-1980s debuts	Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001) The Electric Company (1971–1977) Zoom (1972–1978) 3-2-1 Contact (1980–1988) The Great Space Coaster (1981-1986) Powerhouse (1982–1983) Reading Rainbow (1983–2006) Newton's Apple (1983–1999) Kidsongs (1985–1998)¹ Learn to Read (1987–1988)³ Square One Television (1987–1992) Gerbert (1988–1991) Shining Time Station (1989–1995) Long Ago and Far Away (1989–1993)
1990s debuts	Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995) Mark Kistler's Imagination Station (1991–1998) Barney & Friends (1992–2010) Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992–1997) Ghostwriter (1992–1995) Kino's Storytime (1992–1997) Tots TV (1993–1998) Theodore Tugboat (1993–2001) Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998) The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon (1993–1999) Katie and Orbie (1994–2002) The Magic School Bus (1994–1997) Globe Trekker (1994–2010) The Huggabug Club (1995–2000) The Puzzle Place (1995–1998) The Big Comfy Couch (1995–2009) Wishbone (1995–2001) Groundling Marsh (1995–1997) Kratts' Creatures (1996) Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996–1997) Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1996–2000) In the Mix (1996–2012)³ Wimzie's House (1997–2001) The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (1998–1999) Noddy (1998–2000) Teletubbies (1998–2008) Zoom (1999–2005) Zoboomafoo (1999–2001) Redwall (1999–2002)¹ Dragon Tales (1999–2005)
2000s debuts	Between the Lions (2000–2010) The Toy Castle (2000-2003)¹ The Dooley and Pals Show (2000–2003)² Caillou (2000–2010) Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000–2003) Corduroy (2000–2001) Elliot Moose (2000–2001) Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse (2000–2002) George Shrinks (2000–2004) Seven Little Monsters (2000–2004) Timothy Goes to School (2000–2001) Anne of Green Gables (2001–2002)¹ Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (2001–2002) Jay Jay the Jet Plane (2001–2005) DragonflyTV (2002–2008)³ Cyberchase (2002–2020) Angelina Ballerina (2002–2006) Liberty's Kids (2002–2003) The Berenstain Bears (2003–2004) Boohbah (2003–2006) Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (2003–2007) Clifford's Puppy Days (2003–2006) Curiosity Quest (2004–2015)² Peep and the Big Wide World/Pocoyo (2004–2011)¹ Make Way for Noddy (2004–2007) Maya & Miguel (2004–2007) Postcards from Buster (2004–2012) The Shapies (2005–2007)² Toopy and Binoo (2005–2006)² Danger Rangers (2005–2006)¹ The Zula Patrol (2005–2008)¹ Bob the Builder (2005–2012) Time Warp Trio (2005–2006) Signing Time! (2006–2008)¹ It's a Big Big World (2006–2010) Franny's Feet (2006–2010) Wunderkind Little Amadeus (2006)¹ Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman (2006–2010) SeeMore's Playhouse (2006–2008)² Design Squad (2007–2011) Super Why! (2007–2016) WordGirl (2007–2015) WordWorld (2007–2011) Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies (2007–2008)² Animalia (2007–2008)² Biz Kid$ (2008–2017)¹ Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures (2008–2009) Raggs (2008–2009)² Martha Speaks (2008–2014) Sid the Science Kid (2008–2013) Lomax, the Hound of Music (2008) The Electric Company (2009–2011) Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps (2009–2010) Dinosaur Train (2009–2020)
2010s debuts	The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (2010–2018) Peg + Cat (2013–2018) Bob the Builder (2015–2018) Mack & Moxy (2016) Ready Jet Go! (2016–2019) Splash and Bubbles (2016–2018) Esme & Roy (2019–2021)
Current Original series template All programs are distributed by PBS unless where noted. ¹ Distributed by American Public Television (APT). ² Not distributed by PBS or APT. ³ Instructional program.