Katie Huber of Fred Rogers Productions talks style guides, recent launches – and potential around Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

Katie, it’s always great to catch up. How has 2025 been so far for Fred Rogers Productions?
For Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, we had our second release with Tubby Todd Bath Co. based in Carlsbad, CA. That’s been a fantastic partnership. Our first collaboration with them was in late 2024 for the back-to-school timeframe. It was so successful that they wanted to do another release, this time tied to Valentine’s Day.

For this second collection, we leaned into the idea of 143 – which means I love you in a coded way. That resonates throughout Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and is actually celebrated here in Pennsylvania as a special day. This collection also sold out and we’ve been really excited about how it’s connected the brand to a whole new generation, especially millennials and Gen Z mothers.

Talk me through how that range captured that audience.
It’s a range of bath products for babies and toddlers – something you would expect us do to with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood – but the team wanted to work with the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood brand because of its wonderful message and sentiment. We leaned into all the great iconography – his sweater, Trolley, the stoplight – all of the elements that really bring Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to life.

Terrific. And you also recently teamed up with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a collaboration?
Yes! We’ve always dreamt of working with an MLB (Major League Baseball) team and the Pirates are our neighbours, right down the road. They came to us with the idea of a drone show, which is something we’ve never explored before. It was also special as it was the first time we took the Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood characters and imagined them with another IP – in this case, we put them in the Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms

The drone show also spanned both Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It connected them for the audience, which is so important because there’s a whole generation that may not realise the connection between the two. Parents who are showing their children Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood may not realise the series is a spin-off of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Elsewhere, we’ve also signed Hanna Andersson for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. That collection will be coming out in spring 2026. And there are other exciting things in the works here, too!

You’ve been busy! Delving into Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, it ran for over 30 seasons so there’s plenty of different strings to pull on in terms of what resonates with fans. How key was getting the creative right in making that brand ‘licensing-ready’? Do you have a style guide?
It’s hard to believe but Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood will have its 60th anniversary in 2028 and in the brand’s 55-year history, there has never been a bespoke style guide for it – until now!

Is that because you haven’t needed one, or just that the focus has been elsewhere?
The primary focus and goal of our organisation is to create content that delivers the legacy of Fred Rogers in building social-emotional learning for families. From a consumer products perspective, it’s a unique place to be because that’s not been the core focus. It’s been really exciting to start to imagine and create a consumer products slate that connects with fans in an authentic way.

“2027 is the 15th anniversary of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and 2028 is the 60th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

One of the things that’s so special about consumer products – and something that often gets lost in all of the metrics and financials – is that it’s ultimately a physical item for someone to connect with a brand they love. Like this Funko Pop! Mister Rogers. It puts a smile on people’s faces. That’s why it was so important to step back and really think about our brand message and positioning before embracing licensing.

Creatively, what we’ve done previously is lean into photography and his likeness in more of a legacy take on the brand. What’s so special about Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is that everyone who grew up watching it has a different point of connection. For me, it was Trolley. Others love Picture Picture, or King Friday XIII, or Daniel Striped Tiger.

There’s a world to experience that’s never been explored in consumer products, and that’s really exciting. You’ll start to see us build out a lovely catalogue that brings our characters and IP to life in a new way, while continuing to stay true to our brand.

Great! You mentioned there is now a style guide for the brand. Who did you work on that with?
It’s an agency called M Style Marketing. We met them at Licensing Expo last year and have been working with Rob Striar and his team to create this first guide. We’re very excited about it. We’re starting to talk about the next guide so we can build out a beautiful catalogue of assets to have available for our licensees to use and do some fun things with.

There’s someone on our team who’s been with the company for 30 years and actually worked with Fred Rogers. I showed her what we’d been working on, and I wasn’t even looking at the art while I was flipping it, I was looking at her expression. I got goosebumps! Her reaction was everything I’d hoped for.

Fantastic. And with this being the first guide, there’s plenty of exciting creative avenues still to explore I’d image?
Absolutely! There are great patterns that we’ve not touched on yet, like the plaid couch. There’s more to explore with Trolley and other icons as well. We’re very excited about the possibilities.

There may be readers outside of the US that aren’t as close or familiar with the brand. Do you think there’s aspects of the IP you could ‘dial up’ in categories like fashion, where the design appeals to consumers irrespective of whether they know the brand?
It’s like you’ve been in my brain! We always look at how does someone make that connection to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Look at a UK brand like Cath Kidston. I’m not in discussions with them – yet! – but that would be such a great collaboration down the road. They could do exactly that. They have such a smart creative lens that enables them to create patterns and items that are authentic to their brand, and to the brand they’re partnered with, that look great, too.

Before we wrap up, can you talk us through some of the important anniversaries coming up for your brands?
Yes! 2027 is the 15th anniversary of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and 2028 is the 60th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Both are important and significant for different reasons. In addition, 2026 is the fifth anniversary for our two newest shows, Donkey Hodie and Alma’s Way.

Another thing I’m really focused on this year is not just the connection between Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood but also Donkey Hodie.

And for anyone new to Donkey Hodie, talk us through how that brand connects to the others?
Donkey Hodie was a character on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and she has her own show now. We’ve just done a Donkey Hodie crossover episode with Daniel Tiger – ‘Daniel Tiger Visits Someplace Else’ – and we have a book with Simon & Schuster centered on that special episode called ‘Donkey Hodie Meets Daniel Tiger.’

We want to make sure people know we have even more wonderful IP along with great characters and stories, to connect with as we continue to expand our Fred Rogers Productions universe.

Amazing. Thanks again Katie!