A government organization run by kids whose first names start with the letter O, solving odd occurrences using basic math. That is the basic concept of the live-action TV show Odd Squad. Produced by The Fred Rogers Co., the show was targeted at preschool to early elementary students and their families. It was shown on networks such as PBS Kids and TVOKids. Season One follows agents Olive and Otto who use math to investigate and solve some strange occurrences that happen around their town. Two other important characters are Agent Oscar who is a scientist in Odd Squad and Ms. O who is the boss of Odd Squad.
Most agents in Odd Squad are grouped together as partners, with Olive and Otto being a team. Agent Olive is the more serious of the two; she usually gets things done and likes sports. Agent Otto is the more silly of the two; he’s a rookie and has an obsession with food. Each episode usually has two stories that follow Olive and Otto around town as they find odd occurrences and solve them using basic math. The show also has a few other elements that make it interesting like a tube transport system, gadgets being made by Agent Oscar to make solving problems easier, and a Mathroom that helps the agents solve math. There are also many recurring villains who are sometimes the cause of these weird occurrences. Some of these villains include the Shapeshifter who can shapeshift into anything, Noisemaker who wants to fill the world with weird noises, and Odd Todd who is a former Odd Squad agent and was the number one villain of Odd Squad in Season 1.
Odd Squad is a weird kids show. That didn’t stop it from being enjoyable for little kids, including myself. Even now, I find the episodes on YouTube to be enjoyable, even if parts of it show that this series was targeted to a really young audience. There were a few jokes that I would say still hold up even as you get older. If you have a younger sibling or you just want to check the show out, I would recommend it. It’s an enjoyable, strange kid show that teaches basic math.
