“Dora the Explorer” has inspired many youngsters to get curious about the world beyond the borders of Sesame Street. But once your child reaches the age of 7, Dora’s adventures get a little dull. That’s when Jane Garcia should take over.
The 9-year-old heroine of “Jane,” which returns Friday on Apple TV+, is one of those kids who knows more types of dinosaurs than names of Olivia Rodrigo songs. Her enthusiasm gets a bit grating, but she’s a great guide for more grown-up treks, especially with Earth Day being celebrated Monday.
In this second season, Jane Garcia (Ava Louise Murchison) and her pun-loving pal David (Mason Blomberg) get super curious about pandas, wolves, armadillos and coral reefs.
Instead of pretending to be princesses and cowboys, they imagine themselves in the deep sea or on the African tundra, saving creatures from the effects of climate change and poachers. After a few episodes, your children may be begging you to take them to the Amazon instead of Disney World.
What makes “Jane” extra special is that it never talks down to kids, and even acknowledges their parents. One of the secondary plots revolves around how a single mom tries to make time for her precocious daughter while still breaking away for the occasional dinner date.
The environment may not be a common topic at your family’s dinner table. If anyone can change that, it’s “Jane.”
Also this week
‘Battle for the Arctic With Bill Hemmer’
The title of this special suggests that the Fox News anchor might shine some light on how climate change is affecting the polar region. But Hemmer spends most of his trip up north honoring U.S. military forces that face challenges from Russia, reporting with the enthusiasm of a Boy Scout who just landed his first merit badge. Hemmer and his team seem more interested in the ice cream served aboard a Navy submarine than the plight of polar bears. Fox Nation
‘O.J.: Made in America’
The death of O.J. Simpson on April 10 gave late-night comics an excuse to rehash some of the most peculiar aspects of the sports superstar’s infamous time in the spotlight. But that murder trial was much more than tabloid fodder, a point made over and over in this remarkable docuseries that topped my list of the best TV of 2016. Its back story on how racial relations led to his acquittal is even more poignant in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Netflix, Spectrum
