Which Canadian network aired the 1960s predecessor series Misterogers?

CBC Television aired Misterogers, the Canadian predecessor to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Fred Rogers moved to Toronto in 1961 to develop a new children’s program for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Misterogers debuted on CBC in 1962 as a short-form series, and it ran for about four years. Unlike The Children’s Corner, where Rogers was primarily a puppeteer and musician working behind the scenes, Misterogers put him on camera speaking directly with children and viewers.

The Canadian production introduced important elements later associated with Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. CBC designers and producers helped create set pieces such as the trolley and castle, while Rogers refined the gentle, direct presentation style that became his trademark.

The series is sometimes mistaken for an American PBS program because the later show became much more famous in the United States. Rogers returned to Pittsburgh in 1966, acquired the program’s rights, and developed Misterogers’ Neighborhood for American educational television. The national American version premiered in 1968 on NET, later moving to PBS.