The Good Night Show

The Good Night Show was an American television programming block on Sprout which premiered on September 26, 2005, when the channel was known as PBS Kids Sprout. Programming starts at 6:00pm ET (5:00pm CT) each evening.^[1] Throughout the three-hour block, which is repeated twice over the course of the evening, viewers (referred to as "Sproutlets") are encouraged to participate in host-led games, songs, crafts, and lessons in yoga and sign language. Activities and games generally revolve around a theme, and take place between theme-appropriate cartoon episodes. These themes include issues of interest to preschool children and their parents, such as imaginary friends, teddy bears, shadows, opposites, dreams, or babysitters.

Hosts

Final hosts

• Nina, played by Michele Lepe,^[2] debuted as the permanent host on December 18, 2006.^[3] Lepe's fourth season premiered on November 7, 2009 and was still hosting in April 2012.^[4] and her fifth season premiered on August 27, 2012. The sixth season premiered on July 27, 2015. Michele (as Nina?) guest-hosted The Sunny Side Up Show in 2014.
• Star, a star-shaped puppet, portrayed by Stacia Newcomb, is the show's co-host. Star serves as the child character of the show, asking questions about the evening's theme, commenting to Nina about the segment (such as the Good-Night Game), or encouraging viewers to follow him as he performs nighttime routines such as brushing his teeth or reading a bedtime story. Star debuted shortly before the departure of the program's original host, "Melanie." His puppet was updated on November 7, 2011 and again on August 27, 2012. He appears as a character in the prequel Nina's World, living with Nina, even though Star accompanied Melanie and Leo prior to Nina's arrival.
• Lucy is a firefly puppet used to introduce show segments. She is also featured in games, such as "Lucy Light the Way"; in this game, viewers are shown parts of a picture (as though they were illuminated by a firefly's light) and viewers then guess what the picture represents. Her puppet was updated in mid-2009. She also appears as a character in the prequel Nina's World, living with Nina, even though she was introduced alongside Leo before Nina arrived.
• Hush is a real-life goldfish who was originally used to introduce show segments. Presently, he appears at the end of every show, with Nina closing the show by saying good night and reciting a poem in which viewers are encouraged to "make a wish." He appears in the prequel Nina's World living with Nina as a child even though he began with Melanie.

Previous hosts

• Melanie, portrayed by Melanie Martinez, was the original host when the show premiered in 2005. She introduced cartoon episodes with the aid of "Hush," a live-action goldfish. In July 2006, Martinez was fired because of concerns over inappropriate dialogue in two 30-second videos, I Have a Future (July 2000) and Boys Can Wait (February 2001), spoofing abstinence-only public service announcements, in which she had played the role of a student, before joining PBS Kids Sprout.^[5][6][7]
• Leo, played by Noel MacNeal, was the interim host after Melanie's dismissal. He debuted on September 10, 2006 as special guest host. Both "Star" and "Hush" remained as recurring characters during his tenure, but the cast was also expanded to include "Lucy." MacNeal had a long background in children's television, including his portrayal of "Bear" on Disney's Bear in the Big Blue House.,^[8] and Magellan on Nickelodeon's Eureeka's Castle.

References

External links

• Official website
• The Good Night Show on IMDb