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YouTube’s Ms. Rachel Gets Netflix Show, Drawing Cheers From Parents

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YouTube’s Ms. Rachel Gets Netflix Show, Drawing Cheers From Parents

“Let’s figure out what our letter of the day is!”

Ms. Rachel, the children’s YouTube star, cooed that sentence in an Instagram video posted this week as she dug into a sensory bin of purple rice, with the kind of texture toddlers tend to ogle.

Set against a blank yellow screen, like many of her videos, she smiled as her ponytail bobbed onto her signature pink T-shirt and blue overalls.

She gasped as the camera panned to a bright red “N” in the rice.

Holding the letter, she cheerfully told viewers in her singsong voice that her videos would soon be available on Netflix.

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The announcement is the latest development for the booming empire of Ms. Rachel, the child educator from Maine turned viral video star, whose appeal has been compared to that of Mister Rogers and Beyoncé.

She has more than 13 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and millions more on Instagram and TikTok, with her videos have collectively drawn billions of views.

Ms. Rachel, whose full name is Rachel Accurso, also has a multibook deal with Random House; a line of toys, including a popular cooing doll in her likeness; and branded T-shirts, pajamas and bathing suits. She works with her husband, Aron Accurso, the co-creator and co-producer, and they are represented by the powerhouse talent group Creative Artists Agency.

“We’re so happy that our videos will be reaching more little ones and their families through Netflix,” Ms. Accurso and her husband wrote in an email. “It’s the best feeling to see families singing the songs, using the learning techniques and creating meaningful moments together beyond the screen.”

At Netflix, the videos join a lineup of children’s programming that already includes fan favorites like “CoComelon” and “Blippi,” which also found fame on YouTube.

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The four-episode season of “Ms. Rachel” will be available to stream starting Jan. 27, and it will include 30- to 60-minute lessons that teach numbers, letters, colors and shapes. More episodes will be available later this year, and her videos will continue to stream on YouTube. (Representatives for Netflix declined to comment.)

Ally Shuster, Ms. Accurso’s agent at CAA, said she learned about the Ms. Rachel videos two years ago through her young nephew, Oliver, who was mesmerized.

“I think people respond to Ms. Rachel’s passion and authenticity,” Ms. Shuster said in an email.

“Rachel and Aron put so much thought and care into their content,” she said, adding, “Their love for children and their work really shines through, and I think that’s a big part of what makes them so successful.”

Before she found fame on YouTube, Ms. Accurso, 42, earned master’s degrees in early childhood education and music education, and worked as a music teacher in the Bronx.

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She left the job to spend more time with her son, Thomas. Around his first birthday, she started making videos for him when she noticed that he was behind on speech development. She and her husband uploaded the videos to YouTube in 2019, and the content struck a chord with young children and their parents.

Speech pathologists have said that her videos incorporate techniques used by speech therapists, such as speaking slowly and repeating simple sentences. Many parents have said the programs feel more wholesome than other options.

(The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 18 months avoid screen time, children between 18 and 24 months limit screen time to educational programming watched with a caregiver, and children over age 2 limit it to one hour a day of high-quality programming.)

To the parents who have watched Ms. Rachel’s rise on social media, the Netflix deal is welcome news for a variety of reasons.

Betsy Tannenbaum, 35, an attorney in Nashville with two young children, said she discovered Ms. Rachel after noticing a group of children who were transfixed by her videos at a birthday party.

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“My husband and I are both working parents, and we work from home, so screen time is sometimes unavoidable,” she said. “Ms. Rachel makes that as guilt-free an experience as possible.”

Ms. Tannenbaum also thinks watching the videos on Netflix will streamline the experience.

“The current platform she is on can sometimes feel convoluted with unrelated content and suggestions that can be distracting to both myself and my toddler,” she said, “and can sometimes get us down a rabbit hole.”

Avery Adrien, 34, a content strategist living in Richmond, Va., also has two young children and said Ms. Rachel’s videos were part of her family’s evening routine.

“We appreciated that it was a very relaxing show,” Ms. Adrien said.A lot of kids’ shows these days are overstimulating.”

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She and her husband found Ms. Rachel’s videos on YouTube several years ago. Ms. Adrien said her family felt like they grew up with her and were excited about her success.

“Ms. Rachel’s in her bag, getting that money,” she said, “and we think no one is more deserving of it than her.”

Lifestyle

‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

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‘Wait Wait’ for February 28. 2026: Live in Bloomington with Lilly King!

An underwater view shows US’ Lilly King competing in a heat of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 31, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images)

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This week’s show was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Lilly King and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Faith Salie. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

Who’s Bill This Time

State of the Union is Hot; The Tribal Council Convenes Again; A Glow Up In the Doll Aisle

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Panel Questions

The Toot Tracker

Bluff The Listener

Our panelists tell three stories about a travel hack in the news, only one of which is true.

Not My Job: Olympic Swimmer Lilly King answers our questions about Lil’ Kings

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Olympic Swimmer Lilly King plays our game called, “Lilly King meet these Lil’ Kings” Three questions about short kings.

Panel Questions

Cleaning Out The Cabinet; Bedtime Stacking

Limericks

Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Getting Cozy With Cross Country Skiing; Pickleball’s New Competition; Bees Get Freaky

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Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else

Predictions

Our panelists predict, after American Girls, what’ll be the next toy to get an update.

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Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

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Zendaya and Tom Holland Are Married, Her Longtime Stylist Claims

Law Roach
Zendaya and Tom’s Wedding Already Happened …
Y’all Missed It!!!

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Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

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Bet on Anything, Everywhere, All at Once : Up First from NPR

Online prediction market platforms allow people to place bets on wide-ranging subjects such as sports, finance, politics and currents events.

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The rise of prediction markets means you can now bet on just about anything, right from your phone. Apps like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown exponentially in President Trump’s second term, as his administration has rolled back regulations designed to keep the industry in check. Billions of dollars have flooded in, and users are placing bets on everything from whether it will rain in Seattle today to whether the US will take over control of Greenland. Who’s winning big on these apps? And who is losing? NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn joins The Sunday Story to explain how these markets came to be and where they are going.

This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Liana Simstrom and Brett Neely. Fact-checking by Barclay Walsh and Susie Cummings. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez. 

We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.

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Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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