The Best TV Shows on TVOntario

Every TVOntario Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Discover the best of TVOntario with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for September 2026. For top-tier entertainment, TVOntario delivered Today's Special and Téléfrançais in 1982 and 1984. Boasting a rich catalog, TVOntario features more than 20 shows, with broadcasting dates ranging from 1982 to 2022.

  • 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.

  • Today's Special
    Today's Special (1982)8.2

    Today's Special was a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1981 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel/Odyssey as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship location of the now defunct Simpson's in Toronto. Many sequences for it were shot at the Queen Street West and Yonge Street store after hours.

  • Doki
    Doki (2013)7.8

    Doki's a dog with a lot of questions about science and nature, and he and his explorer friends travel the globe and beyond to get the answers.

  • Dino Dana
    Dino Dana (2017)7.5

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • George Shrinks
    George Shrinks (2000)6.5

    George Shrinks is a French-Canadian/American/Chinese animated television series. It is based on the children's book by William Joyce, produced in China by Jade Animation and in Canada by Nelvana, in association with Public Broadcasting Service. It tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named George who, one night dreams that he is three inches tall, only to wake up and discover that it is true. The show details his adventures with his friends and family going all through his adventures on his mini machine's that George and his musical father have created.

  • 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.

  • The Secret City
    The Secret City (1985)6.0

    The Secret City was a television program designed to teach children how to draw, starring Mark Kistler as as the fictional ‘Commander Mark’ who led viewers and in-studio club members through various drawing exercises in a sci-fi clubhouse setting full of fun, fantasy, and adventure. While the show’s format essentially prioritizes instruction over narrative, ongoing ‘drama’ is created by the frequent addition of new key features to the emerging scenery of the giant Secret City mural. Often Special Guests would appear on the show to demonstrate other art forms or practical applications for drawing skills. The show was created by John Price & Mark Kistler, based on Bruce McIntyre's AVDP. Much of the series was edited live in-camera and was shot in a somewhat semi-scripted format. It was produced at Maryland Public Television through private funding by Children's Video Associates, and intended for broadcast via national PBS syndication. It also aired on TVOntario.

  • 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.

  • Rosie's Rules
    Rosie's Rules (2022)3.7

    Follows the adventures of Rosie Fuentes, an inquisitive and hilarious 5-year-old girl just starting to learn about the wow-mazing world beyond her family walls. And she is ready to learn it all...by figuring it out herself.

  • PoppetsTown
    PoppetsTown (2009)3.5

    PoppetsTown follows the adventures of Blooter, and his best friends Patty and Bobby, as they solve everyday problems that occur in PoppetsTown.