The logo, 2007-2009 |
The logo, 2009-2015 |
Madeline Fretz – The Sunny Side Up Show was a morning block which featured Chica, a chicken puppet, and a live adult host. It aired live from 2007 until 2017.
When Sprout launched in 2005, it featured a block called The Birthday Show, where presenter Kevin Yamada read birthday cards from viewers and shared party recipes.
In 2007, SVP of programming Andrew Beecham knew he wanted a live show, so Sprout producers, including Betsy Oliphant-Ross, talked about creating one that focused on different themes and encouraged viewers to submit content. They played around with names before finally settling on The Sunny Side Up Show.
And on September 26th that year (according to sources like this), The Sunny Side Up Show launched, presented by Chica, Yamada, Sean Roach, and Kelly Vrooman in the “Sunshine Barn”, with a special preview airing earlier, guest starring Big Bird from Sesame Street, here played by Muppets Most Wanted‘s Matt Vogel.
Each week had a theme, including “Fall”, “Animals”, “Construction”, and “Opposites”. The weeks followed a similar format – including games, songs, stories, birthday wishes, and material sent in by viewers (similar to the PBS series ZOOM, which never aired on Sprout).
Shows included such gold-standard programs including Barney & Friends, Thomas & Friends, Play with Me Sesame, Chloe’s Closet, Dive Olly Dive!, and Fireman Sam.
One popular segment was the online Barnyard Boogie Dance game, where a viewer would dance with a host and the host would try to copy the moves. In 2013, it was replaced by a new segment called “Sproutlet Stories,” where Chica and a host would act out a story.
Another segment was “Dress Chica,” where the presenter would dress Chica up in various costumes related to what the viewers chose.
Yet another segment was “Good Egg Awards” (formerly “Farm Talk”), where the presenter would congratulate a viewer for doing something good.
The hosts also read birthday cards and wishes sent in via SproutOnline.com and delivered to them by Mr. Mailman. The birthday segments, which also aired during The Good Night Show as “Today’s Birthdays,” featured an original birthday song you can view above.
The show has had many hosts over the years, including:
- Kevin Yamada, 2007-2009/2010
- Kelly Vrooman, 2007-2013, 2014
- Sean Roach, 2007-2013
- Dennisha Pratt, 2009/2010-2014, 2015
- Liz Filios, 2010-2012, 2013
- Carly Ciarrocchi, 2012-2017
- Darryl Williams, 2013/2014
- Tim Kubart, 2013-2017
- Kaitlin Becker, 2013/2014-2017
- Emily Borromeo, 2014-2017