Moving away from ‘Fred’s way’

The media company behind the PBS hit “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” is working on a new children’s television series.

Kevin Morrison, chief operating officer of Family Communications Inc., told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company is in talks with producers of several children’s TV shows about a new program.

Morrison said there is no timetable and ideas are still being discussed. One thing it won’t be is an updated version of the original show, he said.

“We’re talking about classic ‘Mister Rogers’ topics having to do with social, emotional and developmental issues,” he said. “The way Fred did that was Fred’s way. The way we do it next won’t necessarily be Fred’s way, but we think it will be a way Fred would respect and approve of.”

Production of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” ended in 2000, and Fred Rogers, the show’s star, died in 2003, at age 74. The show still airs on most PBS stations.