X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

The Electric Company

  • Watchlist
  • 1971-1977
  • 6 Seasons
  • Noggin
  • Family, Comedy
  • TV-G
  • Watchlist

"The Electric Company," aimed at children ages 7 to 10, was designed to teach basic reading concepts to its young viewers. Skits featuring the show's regulars, cartoons, vignettes, and regular features revolved around sound clusters (such as -ly, sh-, oo-) and punctuation marks. On occasion, a fun song was played with the audience challenged to supply the lyrics during the second sing-through. Through the years, different features were added including "Love of Chair" (1971-1973, a spoof of "Love of Life"), "The Adventures of Letterman" (added in 1972), cartoon segments featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1973), and Spider-Man (1974).

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Jim Boyd
Andy
Morgan Freeman
Count Dracula
Judy Graubart
Jennifer of the Jungle

Season 6 Episode Guide See All

Episode 1

1B

Mon, Oct 18, 1976

Where to Watch

Awards

  • 1976 - Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Informational Children's Series - nominated
  • 1977 - Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Children's Informational Series - winner
  • 1972 - Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming - Programs - nominated
  • 1973 - Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming - Entertainment/Fictional - winner

You May Also Like See All

The Office
The Larry Sanders Show
Once and Again
Fleabag

Latest News See All

The Electric Company Alum Luis Avalos Dies at 67

Luis Avalos, who co-starred on The Electric Company, died on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He passed after...

Fri, Jan 24, 2014
The Electric Company Alum Luis Avalos Dies at 67

Emmy-winning The Bold and the Beautiful Producer Ron Weaver Dies at 75

Emmy-winning producer of The Bold and the Beautiful and Sesame Street's The Children's Television Workshop, Ron Weaver, died Thursday at  age 75 in Los Angeles. Weaver began with the soap, , a sister show to The Young and the Restless, when it started in 1987 and only left the show weeks ago in April after 27 years. He won three daytime Emmys for overseeing thousands of episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful, which follows the rich Californian Forresters family and is the most watched soap opera in the world.

Wed, May 15, 2013
Emmy-winning The Bold and the Beautiful Producer Ron Weaver Dies at 75

Golden Globes Review: Third Time Not a Charm

If nothing else, Ricky Gervais is a master at upending our expectations. Last year, he drew blood as host-turned-heckler at the Golden Globes, redeeming his lackluster performance of the year before. Returning to the scene of his crime ...

Mon, Jan 16, 2012
Golden Globes Review: Third Time Not a Charm

Please settle a bet between ...

Question: Please settle a bet between my friend and me. I am positive that I remember the actor Morgan Freeman on the kids' show The Electric Company in the mid-'70s. My friend says no way. Who is right? I have a bottle of very good wine riding on this!Answer: Well, this oughtta pop your cork, then, Jessica. (And, at the risk of beating this horse to death, all you goofuses who hold back on the details of your betting should take note of Jessica's gallant move of telling me what she and her pal have at stake in their bet.) Freeman did indeed play Easy Reader, the afro-wearing character who helped a generation of children learn to read on the brilliant Electric Company, from 1971 to 1976. That role followed acclaimed work on stage and represented the actor's first break in television, but his feelings about the job seem to depend on when you ask him about it. In 2001, when he served as chair of the

Thu, Apr 6, 2006

Electric Phenom Returns to TV

The Electric Company is coming back to juice a new generation of early elementary-school kids into mastering reading skills. Executives at Sesame Workshop in New York City are hoping to relaunch the landmark literacy series in the fall of 2007, after a near 30-year absence from public television. Karen Gruenberg, the Workshop's executive vice president for content, promises a series that will call upon "today's artists and the best in pop culture" to lure at-risk kids to the screen. Just as the original series featured Bill Cosby and bits of sketch comedy, Gruenberg says humor will be an essential part of the new series. "If we don't [have humor], we will have completely missed the mark," she says. Equally electrifying is news that DVD sets of the 1971-77 Electric Company — featuring Rita Moreno, Cosby and a pre-stardom Morgan Freeman — will be released later this year. As many parents will recall, before there was

Tue, Jun 7, 2005

Popular Shows See all shows

64 Zoo Lane

4 Seasons
64 Zoo Lane is a kid show about a girl who goes outside her house at night to play with her zoo friends including a giraffe, zebra and more. The show is definitely a show for the whole family to watch.
1999 Animation, Other, Family
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Out There

2 Seasons
Four young teens are about to have their lives dramatically altered. They will need to find friendship in the most unlikely place just to survive adolescence in the off-beat series Out There. Miller and Fiona are two Australian kids living in the small country town of "Wollemi". These two local kids find their lives completely changed by the arrival of two outsiders, Reilly, an American from wealthy Connecticut and Aggie, an animal mad English girl. Set in and around the Wild Spring Veterinary Clinic, this series explores the personal turmoil and social misadventures of the foursome, as they navigate the obstacles of adolescence. 2003 AFI Award winner for Best Children's Television Drama Series.
2003 Comedy, Drama, Family
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Sponk!

NOGGIN's improvisational comedy game-show has only one rule: be funny or go home without a golden rubber chicken. The Red Team and the Blue Team try to out-funny each other and win the only way they can: by cracking up the audience.
2001 Comedy, Family, Game Show
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Balloon Builders

1 Season
Pop into Shana's studio and watch as she blows your child away with her balloon building skills and fun animal facts for kids.
2022 Family
Watchlist
Where to Watch

JoJo & Gran Gran

3 Seasons
The adventures of a cheerful 4, going on 5-year-old JoJo and her loving Gran Gran.
2020 Animation, Family
Watchlist
Where to Watch

Tweenies

4 Seasons
Four preschool-aged best friends have fun together in their playgroup and learn about the world around them through engaging songs, stories, crafts, and more.
1999 Animation, Action & Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Music
Watchlist
Where to Watch