Cartoon Network’s popular animated children’s show “We Baby Bears” will introduce two nonbinary characters and include a discussion of pronoun usage during its season debut Saturday morning.
The characters, who use they/them pronouns, will appear in an episode titled “Polly’s New Crew,” which will air at 10 a.m. ET on Cartoon Network, according to GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. The episode is the first in the second season of “We Baby Bears,” which premiered Jan 1, 2022 for a nine-episode run.
A prequel to the animated series “We Bare Bears,” the kids’ show follows the original show’s characters Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear when they were babies searching for a new home in a magical teleporting box.
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A sneak peak of the upcoming episode posted on Cartoon Network’s YouTube channel shows the titular bears reuniting with their friend Polly the Pirate Captain, who they learn is under a pirate curse and in need of their help. Once they arrive on Polly’s ship, the bears introduce the bird to a new crew member who uses they/them pronouns, prompting Polly to excitedly share that they use they/them pronouns as well.
‘It’s something everybody on the show deeply cares about’
A statement provided to USA TODAY and attributed collectively to the show’s team said that a few crew members on “We Baby Bears” had come out as using they/them pronouns.
“We felt that it was important to reflect that in the show,” according to the statement. “Our show team values representation because it’s something everybody on the show deeply cares about, and that’s why we aim to cast LGBTQ talent.”
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Cartoon Network’s previous LGBTQ representation
This isn’t the first time “We Baby Bears” has included representation of the LGBTQ community, according to GLAAD. In May, Cartoon Network released an episode of “We Baby Bears” featuring trans actress Dominique Jackson.
Cartoon Network has consistently shown support for the LGBTQ community. On Transgender Day of Visibility in March, the network tweeted that “addressing someone using their pronouns and name shows that you RESPECT them as their authentic self.”
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta.
