Joan Rivers Joins the Jakers!® Flock as Shirley the Sheep!

Veteran Comedian and Famous Grandparent Joins Mel Brooks in Lending Barnyard Wit and Wisdom to PBS KIDS® Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks as the Voice of Shirley the Sheep

Joan Rivers, the self-styled "Queen of Comedy," will bring her razor sharp humor down on the farm as the voice of Shirley the Sheep™. Ms. Rivers is the latest celebrity grandparent to join Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks animated children's series ­ now seen daily on PBS KIDS (check local listings). The popular program recently won the "Best International Children's Animation" prize at the British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards (BAFTA), held in November. This is the latest feather in the impressive cap of Jakers!, which has already earned four Daytime Emmy Awards® in the U.S. as well as an Emmy nomination for the role of series regular Mel Brooks, as the voice of Wiley the Sheep™.

Jakers! is the only children's show that celebrates the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren in each episode. The standout educational series stimulates children 4-7 to explore their heritage and encourages "co-viewing" by grandparents and grandkids. A unique concept, combining traditional values, state of the art animation and humor, the celebrated series follows Piggley Winks™, a young pig and his friends, Dannan the duck and Ferny the bull, in 1950's rural Ireland. Going back to traditional roots, celebrating the gift of storytelling and the joy of childhood, it also demonstrates the value of letting children learn from their own experiences. Wiley the Sheep, the American import voiced by Mr. Brooks, and Ms. Rivers, who joins him in matrimony as Shirley the Sheep, bring even more humor to the farm, making Jakers! a true family viewing experience. The series is presented nationally by PBS member station WLIW New York.

As Shirley, Ms. Rivers matches woolly wits with comic legend and famous grandparent, Mr. Brooks. The series has tapped the two comic heroes and other high-profile grandparents to promote the show's core theme of storytelling and grandparent-grandchild bonding.

In addition to Ms. Rivers and Mr. Brooks, new episodes of the series will feature celebrated award-winning Irish author and storyteller Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) as "Mr. McHoof." Real-life grandparents share their stories in "Meet the Grandparents," interstitial segments that speak to the diversity and importance of learning from our elders, and "Piggley's Storyteller Playhouse" features professional storytellers demonstrating how mood, sound effects, special words and other elements make a good story.

Jakers! is produced by Mike Young Productions for Entara Ltd. and presented by PBS member station WLIW New York. Copyright © 2005 Entara Limited. All rights reserved. Piggley Winks, Jakers! and associated trademarks are trademarks of Entara Ltd.