'Blues Clue's & You' gets a second season and a Filipino 'lola'

Filipina Caandian entertainer will join the cast of Blue's Clues & You.

Blue's Clues & You host Josh Dela Cruz will be introducing his grandmother (Lola) in the second season of the popular children's series.
Dela Cruz began his tenure as the host of the reboot of the popular Nickelodeon children's show last November. The network has already ordered a second season.

The second season will follow host Josh (Josh Dela Cruz) and puppy Blue on new adventures with friends old and new. The new season will feature appearances by two former hosts, Steve (Steve Burns) and Joe (Donovan Patton).

Carolyn Fe, who has been cast as the new Filipina character Lola, is a veteran actress but is better known in Canada for her singing in the genre's of jazz and rhythm & blues.

Before succumbing to her first love of singing, Fe has had a busy and varied career. 

From the Philippines to Canada is a long way both culturally as well as geographically. Fe made that journey with her parents at a very young age and has absorbed the best of those worlds and throughout her extensive and varied career has used them to bring a wonderful diversity to all she has touched. She has been a professional dancer, choreographing for her own professional dance company and even owned and operated a dance school offering classical ballet, tap, jazz and aerobics tuition.

Josh Dela Fuente hosts 'Blue's Clues & You.'

Carolyn also made many acting appearances and has her own theatre production company too.

She recently had a couple of projects that brought her back to her Filipino roots. She had a role in Hilot Means Healer, a Toronto production of the play by Jo SiMalaya Alcampo; and in 2019 she released a blues album, "Sukot Ko" (tagalog for "My Wound").

There's no further description of her role as Lola on Blue's Clue but if Fe's character is anything like the lola's I've known, she will be speak her mind, give no-holds-barred advice and feed Josh a lot of food. Just having a Filipino grandmother on TV is historic and reason enough to tune in.

Blue's Clues & You airs on Nickelodeon or viewed here.

First look at the new 'Blues Clues' with its Filipino American host

SCREEN CAPTURE / NICKOLODEON

Josh dela Cruz will host the new 'Blues Clues & You' show for children.

To all you AAPI parents of young children, are you tired of singing that "Baby Shark" song, over and over again to your toddler? Relief is on the way and you get the added bonus of having your children idolize someone who looks like them.

 
Nickolodean is bringing back Blues Clues, that old cartoon mainstay that premiered in 1996 and continued to entertain and educate millions of youngsters who are today's Millennials and possibly having children of their own.

The original host Steve Burns, who is helping produce this reincarnation for a new generation of kids, helped select his replacement, none other than Filipino American Josh dela Cruz. The production company released its first sneak look at the new show, which has been renamed Blues Clues and You! featuring Dela Curz and all his animated friends.

Growing up “I didn’t see anyone who looked like me on American film and television. More specifically, there weren’t any Asian actors that played Americans,” he told Huffpost. “I had always felt that if you wanted to be on television, you had to know how to fight or have an accent. It was incredibly alienating.”

If lack of relatable role models on television has a huge impact. Recently there have been a spate of stories how established stars -- Harry Shum, Jr., Kumail Nanjiani, Randall Park --  

suffered with their identity because there was no one on TV that looked like them.

The original Blue’s Clues series launched in September 1996 to critical praise from educators, parents, and preschoolers and ran for six groundbreaking seasons. Created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela C. Santomero, Blue’s Clues drew acclaim and high ratings for its unique interactivity that helped change the way kids watch television and has remained one of the most popular preschool shows of all time. The landmark series also raised the bar in preschool television by exploring advanced subject matter such as sign language, geography, physics, emotions, and anatomy.

Dela Cruz played the understudy of Aladdin and a member of the ensemble in Broadway’s stage musical of the Disney animated movie. He also appeared in theater roles for Here Lies Love and Encores!: Merrily We Roll Along, and television roles on CBS’ Bull and ABC’s Time After Time.

“From the moment we decided to make a new version of the series, we knew that so much of the energy and magic of the show comes from the host’s ability to bring preschoolers into the colorfully animated world of Blue and her friends,” said Cathy Galeota, Nickelodeon Group’s senior vice president of preschool content. “Josh’s wonderful theater background and his natural charisma checked all the boxes for us, and of course Steve’s stamp of approval only solidified our decision.”

“I give Josh two thumbs up! ," says Burns. "He can definitely fill my shoes, and the rugby shirt.”

“What they did, which was wonderful for me, was that they gave me some coaching time with Steve. So Steve was my Jedi master in the auditions and he was helping me, prepping me, making sure I actually talked to the person on the other side of the camera," says Dela Cruz.

“It was one of the most mind-blowing things when he said, ‘When you’re asking a question you’re not asking the kid because they’re there. You’re asking the kid because if you’re talking about skateboarding, they’re the Tony Hawk.’ I remember my mind just exploded. Oh, my gosh, that makes so much sense. That’s the importance. We’re usually talked down to as kids or told to be quiet, but to really be asked by an adult, “Well, what do you think?” That’s so, so powerful, and Steve being my Yoda throughout this entire thing has been such a gift, so we’ll see what the season has in store.”

The problem is, it won't debut until November this year. So you've got all summer and fall to sing "Baby shark. Dut, dut. Dut, du dut du du...

Four years ago, Views From the Edge featured Josh when he proposed to his fiance in New York's Central Park. Watch the delightful surprise proposal here.

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