The Best TV Shows on TVOntario

Every TVOntario Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Showcasing over 20 shows from 1980 up until 2020, TVOntario stands as a beacon of television excellence. Leading the pack on TVOntario are Eureka! and Téléfrançais, with their initial broadcasts in 1980 and 1984. Discover the best of TVOntario with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for September 2026.

  • Eureka!
    Eureka! (1980)9.0

    Eureka! is a Canadian educational television series which was produced and broadcast by TVOntario in 1980. The series was narrated by Billy Van, and featured a series of animated vignettes which taught physics lessons to children. It is currently available online. Eureka! was also broadcast on some PBS stations in the United States.

  • Peep and the Big Wide World
    Peep and the Big Wide World (2004)8.5

    Peep is a newly hatched chicken who goes on daily adventures with his friends Chirp the robin and Quack the duck. The pals live a large urban park they call "the big wide world" and is the setting for all their lessons. Peep learns specific science concepts on his travels, while the series also incorporates real kids playing and experimenting in their own big wide worlds.

  • Katie and Orbie
    Katie and Orbie (1993)8.0

    Katie and Orbie is a Canadian animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada from June 2, 1997 by Family Channel and later aired in the United States on PBS from June 2, 1997 and on Disney Channel from June 2, 1997–December 31, 1999. In Canada, the series aired uninterruptedly on Family Channel and (beginning on 2007) Disney Junior (formerly called Playhouse Disney) until December 31, 2012. The series has also aired in several countries around the world.

  • Dino Dana
    Dino Dana (2017)7.5

    Dana, a paleontologist in training, and her sister Emily embark on a series of adventures with dinosaurs.

  • Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat
    Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat (2001)7.4

    A young cat living in a magistrate's palace in ancient China, learns the values and importance of family and loyalty.

  • Timothy Goes to School
    Timothy Goes to School (2000)7.3

    A raccoon named Timothy starts kindergarten, and meets many new people and friends. He helps others with their challenges and they would help Timothy on something he is struggling on. It features his everyday adventures while teaching kids how to behave in school and having a positive attitude - feeling good in school and learning more about the world.

  • Martha Speaks
    Martha Speaks (2009)7.3

    Martha, a beloved family dog, is accidentally fed alphabet soup — this gives her the power of speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone that will listen.

  • Téléfrançais
    Téléfrançais (1984)7.0

    Téléfrançais was a French language children's television show, produced by TVOntario from 1984 until 1986. The series of 30 ten-minute episodes has become a popular teaching tool, and is used by many educators to teach French as a second language to elementary and middle school children. The show's name is a portmanteau for télévision and français. The show follows the adventures of two children named Jacques and Sophie, and Ananas, a talking pineapple who resides in a junkyard. Other recurring characters are Pilote, Ginette, the Annonceur, Monsieur Pourquoi, Louis Questionneur, Brigitte Banane, and the comic skeletal musical group Les Squelettes. The programs were produced by Jennifer Harvey and directed by David Moore. The catchy theme and all of Les Squelettes' songs were written by the team of Bruce Ley and Jed MacKay. All the characters and scripts were created by Ken Sobol.

  • 16 Hudson
    16 Hudson (2018)7.0

    Welcome to 16 Hudson. In this charming building on a quiet street in a big city, you can always find a friendly face. Follow the adventures of these little neighbors who treasure each other's similarities and differences. Together we celebrate cultural holidays like the Chinese New Year, Norooz and Diwali. Here everyone knows everyone and our adventures, and no matter how small, are cherished among friends. Won't you join us?

  • Elinor Wonders Why
    Elinor Wonders Why (2020)7.0

    The adventures of an observant and curious bunny rabbit named Elinor and her friends Ari, a bat, and Olive, an elephant.

  • Zoboomafoo
    Zoboomafoo (1999)6.8

    Zoboomafoo is an American children's television series that aired from January 25, 1999, to April 28, 2001, and is still shown today in syndication depending on the area, and it is regularly shown on PBS Kids Sprout. A total of 65 episodes were aired. A creation of the Kratt Brothers, it features a talking Coquerel's Sifaka, a type of lemur, named Zoboomafoo, or Zoboo for short, and a collection of repeat animal guests. Every episode begins with the Kratt brothers in "Animal Junction", a peculiar place in which the rules of nature change and wild animals come to visit and play. After January 16, 2004, the show was pulled from its weekday airing on most PBS stations, though some continue to air the show.

  • The Adventures of Paddington Bear
    The Adventures of Paddington Bear (1997)6.6

    The Adventures of Paddington Bear was a Canadian/French animated children's television series. It was based on the book Paddington Bear by Michael Bond and written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by Cinar and Protecrea and ran for 117 episodes. The show aired in the United States on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV from November 2008 - August 2009. However, all CINAR references in these broadcasts have been replaced by Cookie Jar references. It was also shown on HBO.

  • Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series
    Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series (2001)6.6

    Anne: The Animated Series was a half-hour animated television show produced by Sullivan Entertainment and created by writer/director/producer Kevin Sullivan. The series was developed for PBS and each episode contained an educational aspect. Each show had a problem for one or more of the show’s characters to face and solve. In conjunction with these problems, PBS “Ready-to-Learn” guides were created for teachers in America to use in the classrooms. The educational objectives of the show support a child’s development of his/her identity, reinforced through lateral thinking and the use of a child’s magnitude to absorb daily challenges, and it also appeared on some VHS tapes from Lyrick Studios, HiT Entertainment and Nest Family Entertainment. More recently, Sullivan Entertainment has re-written the “Ready-to-Learn” educational guides for the not-for-profit organization Free the Children. Free the Children will implement these Anne Lesson Plans in the Kenyan Schools they have built and hope to take them to other countries they work in around the world.

  • Dino Dan
    Dino Dan (2009)6.4

    Join paleontologist-in-training Dan Henderson as he takes kids on a Jurassic journey to the land where lizards were as long as three school buses and terrifying T-Rex’s ruled.

  • Pinky Dinky Doo
    Pinky Dinky Doo (2006)6.1

    Pinky Dinky Doo dances her way into her Story Box to tell stories and solve problems using her big imagination and fancy words.

  • Mighty Machines
    Mighty Machines (1997)6.0

    Mighty Machines is a Canadian children's television show about machines and how they work. It airs on TVO, Treehouse TV and other channels in Canada, including Access in Alberta, the Saskatchewan Communications Network, and Knowledge in British Columbia. It also aired on Discovery Kids in 2005, on Qubo in the U.S., and a French-language version airs on TFO in Ontario and on channels in Quebec. It was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1996 in the category of Best Children's Program or Series. The full series is also available for instant viewing in the U.S. through Netflix and their streaming service.

  • Prisoners of Gravity
    Prisoners of Gravity (1989)5.9

    Prisoners of Gravity was a Canadian public broadcasting television news magazine program that explored speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books — and its relation to various thematic and social issues. Produced by TVOntario, the show was the brainchild of former comic retail manager Mark Askwith and writer Daniel Richler, and was hosted by Rick Green. The series aired 139 episodes over 5 seasons from 1989 to 1994.

  • Noddy
    Noddy (1998)5.9

    After years of sailing the sea, Noah Tomten, a retired sea captain, owns an antique toy store called Notions Oddities Doodads and Delights of Yesterday, a variety of toys, from a weasel living inside of a jack in the box to a dog pretending to be a superhero, along with his pet lobster. Two of his grandkids, Kate and Truman, as well as Kate's friend DJ, come to visit him from time to time.

  • renegadepress.com
    renegadepress.com (2004)5.7

    Aboriginal hip-hop artist Jack Sinclair and his best friend Zoey Jones established an underground ezine called renegadepress.com. What started as a pet project soon took on a life of its own pushing Jack, Zoey and their crew of renegade reporters to deliver the goods on what's really going on in the lives of today's teens.

  • Hero Elementary
    Hero Elementary (2020)4.3

    Members of the Sparks' Crew -- Lucita Sky, AJ Gadgets, Sara Snap and Benny Bubbles -- work with their teacher, Mr. Sparks, to help people and solve problems.