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Weird but True!

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Weird but True!
GenreEducational
Created byCharlie Engelman
Directed byBrandon Gulish
Presented by
  • Charlie Engelman
  • Kirby Engelman
  • Carly Ciarrocchi
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes43
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Charlie Engelman
  • Stephanie Burns
Running time23–26 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 10, 2016 (2016-09-10) –
November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)

Weird but True! is an American educational children's television series created by and starring Charlie Engelman with his sister Kirby Engelman (seasons 1–2) and Carly Ciarrocchi (season 3). It originally aired on National Geographic Kids for two seasons, and moved to Disney+ for its third and final season.[1]

Inspired by the National Geographic book series of the same name, much of its style and heavy use of paper models created by the Engelmans are continued from their earlier National Geographic short video series Nature Boom Time.[2][3]

Format

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Using crafting with paper products,[3] the Engelman siblings explore "weird but true" things about a broad-range of subjects, mostly focusing on science. They interview experts and travel to locations such as crime labs, amusement parks, and the Everglades to find answers to their questions and discover weird but true facts, often having their experts share their favorite one. Their other sister Casey appears as a guest star.

Originally, the basement and other scenes set at their house were filmed at Charlie and Kirby's parents' house and basement, in a suburb north of Chicago. For season three, the budget was increased and the basement scenes were filmed at a studio in New Jersey.[2]

The third season was filmed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several episodes happened to have connections to the experiences children had due to COVID-19, such as the science of germs and how to mitigate the spread of infections, as well as experiencing extreme isolation (although in the context of potentially living on Mars). For the third season, Charlie Engelman said that the art production team was "30 to 40 artists", in addition to their research and television production crew.[4]

Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
117September 10, 2016 (2016-09-10)September 30, 2017 (2017-09-30)National Geographic Kids
213October 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)October 6, 2018 (2018-10-06)
313August 14, 2020 (2020-08-14)November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)Disney+

Season 1 (2016–17)

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All episodes were written by Charlie Engelman.

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
11"Space Rocks"September 10, 2016 (2016-09-10)
22"Storm Chasers"September 17, 2016 (2016-09-17)
33"Sunken Treasure"September 24, 2016 (2016-09-24)
44"Dog Days"October 1, 2016 (2016-10-01)
55"Sharks!"October 8, 2016 (2016-10-08)
66"Animal Headgear"October 15, 2016 (2016-10-15)
77"Survival 101"October 22, 2016 (2016-10-22)
88"Alaska's Animals"October 29, 2016 (2016-10-29)
99"Buggin' Out"November 5, 2016 (2016-11-05)
1010"Animal Invaders"November 12, 2016 (2016-11-12)
1111"Sense-Abilities"November 19, 2016 (2016-11-19)
1212"Roller Coasters"November 26, 2016 (2016-11-26)
1313"Kirby the Falconer"December 3, 2016 (2016-12-03)
1414"Caves"September 9, 2017 (2017-09-09)
1515"Action Sports"September 16, 2017 (2017-09-16)
1616"The Case of the Stolen Bike"September 23, 2017 (2017-09-23)
1717"Astronauts"September 30, 2017 (2017-09-30)

Season 2 (2017–18)

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All episodes were written by Charlie Engelman.

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
181"Paper Craftalanches & Recycling!"October 7, 2017 (2017-10-07)
192"Race Cars"October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14)
203"The Airplane Birthday"October 21, 2017 (2017-10-21)
214"Sounds Good"November 25, 2017 (2017-11-25)
225"Trees! Big & Small"December 2, 2017 (2017-12-02)
236"The Volcano Science Fair Showdown"December 9, 2017 (2017-12-09)
247"Coral Reef Crazy"December 16, 2017 (2017-12-16)
258"Carnivorous Plants!"December 23, 2017 (2017-12-23)
269"Busy Bees"September 1, 2018 (2018-09-01)
2710"The Egg Drop Challenge"September 8, 2018 (2018-09-08)
2811"It's Electric!"September 15, 2018 (2018-09-15)
2912"Master Crafters"September 29, 2018 (2018-09-29)
3013"Animal Defense League"October 6, 2018 (2018-10-06)

Season 3 (2020)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleWritten byOriginal release date
311"Dinosaurs"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishAugust 14, 2020 (2020-08-14)
322"National Parks"Charlie Engelman, Mike Foulke & Brandon GulishAugust 21, 2020 (2020-08-21)
333"Farming"Charlie Engelman, Michael Foulke & Brandon GulishAugust 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
344"Germs"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishSeptember 4, 2020 (2020-09-04)
355"Photography"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishSeptember 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)
366"Trains"Charlie Engelman, Michael Foulke & Brandon GulishSeptember 18, 2020 (2020-09-18)
377"Venomous Animals"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishSeptember 25, 2020 (2020-09-25)
388"Our Solar System"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishOctober 2, 2020 (2020-10-02)
399"Cooking"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishOctober 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)
4010"Explorers"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishOctober 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)
4111"Scuba Diving"Michael FoulkeOctober 23, 2020 (2020-10-23)
4212"Rockets"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishOctober 30, 2020 (2020-10-30)
4313"Camping"Charlie Engelman & Brandon GulishNovember 6, 2020 (2020-11-06)

Reception

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Critical response

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The Washington Post praised the humor of the series and described it as a fun learning experience, saying the show manages to be innovative and informative for its audience, writing that it's a "humorous and informative tween-oriented show" with "a wide range of [science] topics" and "a great pick for tweens and grade school-age kids".[5] Surbhi Gupta of The Indian Express said the series has an "engaging mix of art and craft, unbelievable facts, and real-life explorations" and that the show "has grown with each season in terms of scale".[4] Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised its educational value, saying the series invites its audience to deconstruct familiar topics in order to think about them from a different point of view, and complimented the presence of positive messages and role models, stating the series promotes science and innovative thinking through humor, writing, "It's upbeat and fun, and there's a lot to be learned from it, making it a great pick for tweens and up."[6]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2017 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Writing in a Children's, Pre-School Children's or Family Viewing Program Charlie Engelman Nominated [7]
Outstanding Single Camera Editing Mike Varga (senior editor), Arthur 'Art' Citron (editor), Michael Novak (editor), Jocelyn Rose Tarquini (editor) Nominated
2018 Outstanding Sound Editing - Live Action Mike Varga (supervising sound editor) Nominated [8]
Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime James Introcaso (executive producer), Nathan Moore (executive producer). "Weird But True! Shorts". Nominated
2019 Outstanding Educational or Informational Series National Geographic Kids Won [9][10]
Outstanding Directing for a Single Camera Lifestyle, Culinary, Travel or Educational and Informational Program Brandon Gulish (director), National Geographic Kids Nominated [11]
2021 Outstanding Daytime Program Host Carly Ciarrocchi Nominated [12][13]
Charlie Engelman Nominated
Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design National Geographic Kids Nominated [14]

References

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  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 15, 2020). "Nat Geo's 'Weird But True!' Moves To Disney+ For Season 3".
  2. ^ a b Swartz, Tracy (August 11, 2020). "Northfield resident, Northwestern graduate co-host kids science show coming to Disney Plus". chicagotribune.com.
  3. ^ a b "Nature Boom Time". Jackson Wild: Nature. Media. Impact.
  4. ^ a b Surbhi Gupta (August 25, 2020). "Children easily identify when someone is telling the truth and when they are not: Weird But True host Charlie Engleman". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "What to watch with your kids: 'Weird But True!,' 'The Grizzlies' and more" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  6. ^ "Weird but True TV Review | Common Sense Media". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Montgomery, Daniel (April 29, 2017). "2017 Daytime Emmy winners: Full list of Creative Arts winners". GoldDerby. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "Daytime Emmy Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List". E! Online. April 30, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "Nominees (Program – Non-Drama) – 2019 Daytime Emmy® Awards – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Hill, Libby (May 6, 2019). "Complete List of Daytime Emmy and Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Awards Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Nominees (Craft – Non-Drama) – 2019 Daytime Emmy® Awards – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "2021 Daytime Nominees (Performer – Non-Drama) – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. May 25, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  13. ^ Drury, Sharareh; Perez, Lexy; Nordyke, Kimberly (July 18, 2021). "Daytime Emmys: Zac Efron, 'Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time' Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "2021 Daytime Nominees (Craft – Non-Drama) – The Emmys". theemmys.tv. May 25, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
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