Beloved PBS characters like Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur the Aardvark recently welcomed a new friend on their network: Carl the Collector. The fuzzy raccoon is the first autistic lead character in a PBS children’s series — and he’s voiced by Kai Barham, a 10-year-old autistic actor.
“It makes me happy that I am finally being represented in a show,” Barham told The New York Times. “I hope that people who are not on the spectrum will learn that autism is not like the stereotypes.”
The show, which is geared towards ages 4 to 8, is staffed by voice actors, writers, and directors who are autistic or have autistic family members. That first-hand experience guides the heart of the show, which tackles the idea that everyone on the spectrum behaves the same way.
“The stories overall are just human experience, stories for everybody,” said Zachariah OHora, who penned the children’s books that the series is based on.
“So much of the strategies and techniques that are used to support and help autistic individuals are really just extensions of good practice,” said Stephen Shore, an autistic professor of special education at Adelphi University who works as an advisor for the show.
He said that the show was created with autistic and nonautistic viewers in mind.
“I hope they learn more about each other, and that people from all parts of humanity, neurodivergent, neurotypical, neuro-some-other-category-that-we-haven’t-thought-of-yet, understand that we’re more similar than we’re different.”
On March 1, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented “Carl the Collector” with the Emmy Award for “Outstanding Public Service Initiative” at the 4th Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards in New York.
The show won the national award for its “excellence in public service efforts to raise awareness and/or marshal support for one or more worthy community causes.”
“‘Carl the Collector’ spotlights neurodiverse characters while exploring and celebrating the entire spectrum of humanity,” OHora said. “The world of Fuzzytown is designed to be a place where all viewers will see themselves or someone they know in it. We hope Carl and his friends will encourage empathy and understanding, and ultimately show that everyone benefits when we recognize and embrace our differences.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2026 Mental Health Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via Fuzzytown Productions
