Trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will help welcome young viewers and their families back to the world of Alma’s Way next month, opening Season 2 of the Fred Rogers Productions animated series in a special guest appearance. A week of new episodes kicks off September 18 on PBS KIDS, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
S2 premieres with the special half-hour episode. In “Justice Sonia and Judge Alma,” Alma meets Justice Sotomayor and is inspired to help her friends determine what’s fair. Then in “Justice Sonia and Umpire Alma,“ when Justice Sotomayor encourages Alma to be an umpire at a kickball game, Alma wonders if she made the right call about a play.
The episode features Sotomayor voicing her animated alter ego and series creator Sonia Manzano (known for playing Maria on Sesame Street) playing Alma’s grandmother, Granny Isa. Manzano also wrote one of the stories for the episode.
Alma’s Way centers on a six-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl growing up in the Bronx — inspired by Manzano’s own childhood. Each episode of showcases different aspects of Latino culture through music, food, language, and more. The series is executive produced by Manzano and Daytime Emmy Award winner Ellen Doherty (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Cyberchase), Chief Creative Officer, Fred Rogers Productions.
Sotomayor was also born in the Bronx, in 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University and earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979. She served in New York’s D.A.’s office as well as private practice before being appointed to the U.S. District Court, then the U.S. Court of Appeals and finally to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the first woman of color and first Latina to serve SCOTUS.
Alma’s Way Season 2 begins with the following episodes:
September 18
- “Justice Sonia and Judge Alma” — Inspired by meeting Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Alma tries to help her friends determine what’s fair.
- “Justice Sonia and Umpire Alma” — When Justice Sotomayor encourages Alma to be an umpire at a kickball game, Alma wonders if she made the right call about a play.
September 19
- “To Break or Not to Break” — Beto invites Alma and their friends to break his piñata, but when Alma sees he’s hesitant about doing it, she wants to find out why.
- “The New Mr. Octy” — After Alma gives away a toy she doesn’t play with anymore, she wonders if she made a mistake.
September 20
- “Mofongo on the Go” — When Alma and Eddie open a mofongo food truck, they run out of time to actually make the mofongo.
- “Alma Scoots Around” — Alma keeps challenging André to scooter races to prove she’s the fastest.
September 21
- “Piragua Problem” — There’s a new piragua flavor named after Alma, but what should Alma do when she doesn’t like it?
- “Balloon Blues” — Alma isn’t sure what to do when André doesn’t want to play with balloon animals anymore
