On June 4, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” officially joined YouTube with clips, compilations, and five full-length episodes from the beloved children’s show.
Mister Rogers devoted over three decades of his life to the preschool television series, which originally aired from 1968 until 2001.
“With its timeless messages of care and kindness, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is as relevant now as when it first aired,” Ellen Doherty, the chief creative officer and executive producer of Fred Rogers Productions, said in a press release.
“We’re excited to make the series more available for families and fans with this official YouTube destination,” she continued. “We think parents will connect with the authenticity of Fred Rogers’ messages. He was someone who really understood the big feelings and big questions of children — and of their grown-ups.”
The channel’s videos include the show’s very first episode, which aired on February 19, 1968, in black-and-white. The episode shows that even in its earliest iteration, beloved characters like Mr. McFeely and Lady Elaine Fairchilde were involved from the get-go.
Instead of releasing episodes in the order they aired, the channel prioritized releasing some of the most memorable moments from the show’s 33-year run, including “How People Make Crayons” from 1981, “A Science Experiment with Bill Nye” from 1997, and “Koko the Gorilla Meets Mister Rogers” from 1998.
Perhaps most significantly, the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” YouTube channel also uploaded the full episode of “A Visit With Officer Clemmons.”
The episode — which was written by Mister Rogers — featured a groundbreaking storyline in which he invited Officer Clemmons (played by François Clemmons) to join him in a small wading pool on a hot summer’s day.
The moment was designed to challenge racist stereotypes at a time when public swimming pools were still deeply segregated.
“He invited me to come over and to rest my feet in the water with him,” Clemmons recalled in an interview with StoryCorps. “The icon Fred Rogers not only was showing my brown skin in the tub with his white skin as two friends, but as I was getting out of that tub, he was helping me dry my feet.”
The episode aired on May 9, 1969, on the fifth anniversary of “wade-ins” held by civil rights protestors in Florida in 1964 at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida.
"” think he was making a very strong statement,” Clemmons stressed. “That was his way. I still was not convinced that Officer Clemmons could have a positive influence in the neighborhood — and in the real-world neighborhood — but I think I was proven wrong.”
Clemmons would go on to stay on the show for another 25 years until his final appearance in 1993, when he and Mister Rogers recreated their first poolside chat.
Kristin DiQuollo, the creative director of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood YouTube Channel, said that they hope episodes like this help families “slow down together.”
“We’re thoughtfully curating playlists and compilations around classic segments like the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and factory visits,” she said. “We’ll also have rarely seen full episodes, livestreams of special theme weeks, visits with beloved neighbors, and lots of playful and musical moments.”
“Most of all,” DiQuollo said, “we hope the channel will help remind everyone how unique and special they each are.”
You can watch "The Very First Episode" of You can watch “The Very First Episode” of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” below:
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Header image via Walt Seng, courtesy of Fred Rogers Productions
