''In the Mix'' is an American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

for young adults that covers a wide variety of critical issues and provides useful life skill information.

Format and themes

''In the Mix'' is a series that airs on PBS kids for, by and with teenagers, young adults 14–21, and preschoolers too. Each half-hour single-theme episode typically includes several segments devoted to a serious issue facing

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

, including

school violence School violence includes violence between school students as well as attacks by students on school staff. It encompasses physical violence, including student-on-student fighting, corporal punishment; psychological violence such as verbal abuse ...

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

, employment training, and

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s. In addition, the programs are often co-hosted by

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

. All the

hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman *Michel Host ...

and

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s featured on ''In the Mix'' are

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

s or

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

s; several have gone on to careers in the fields of

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

, including

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black''. He als ...

, Kevin Jordan,

Alimi Ballard Alimi Ballard (born October 17, 1977) is an American television actor. He is best known for his role as FBI agent David Sinclair on the CBS police procedural ''Numb3rs'' (2005–2010). Early life Ballard was born in The Bronx, New York and be ...

, Nathan Marshall, and Eden Regal.

Current status

As of Spring 2016, ''In the Mix'' continues to be shown on select PBS stations, usually in educational blocks, and in Canada. The current catalog consists of 65 half-hour single-theme programs. All programs are available for purchase as DVDs, most with discussion guides and some with Spanish subtitles as an option. The programs are used in middle school through college, including teacher/counselor training.

Selected awards and honors

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

* Community Service Programming * Teen Special

CINE Golden Eagle Award Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer to ...

: 8

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

: Honor Roll of Quality Youth Programming PRISM Awards: 3 * Ecstasy * Drug Abuse * Meth..Not Even Once In addition, ''In the Mix'' has been recognized by several national educational and health organizations. The series won the National Mental Health Association's Media Award for its coverage of depression in teenagers. Various episodes of the show have also been included on the

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

's lists of selected videos.

Notes and references

External links

Official Web Site
* {{Former PBS Kids shows 1990s American children's television series 2000s American children's television series 2010s American children's television series 1991 American television series debuts 2012 American television series endings American children's education television series PBS Kids shows PBS original programming