Al Roker discusses new animated weather show at Bentonville Film Festival
Longtime weathercaster Al Roker (yes, from NBC's "Today" show) was at the Bentonville Film Festival this week promoting his new animated series designed to teach kids about weather, offering up a sneak peek to an audience on Tuesday.
Why it matters: " Weather Hunters," which premieres on PBS on Sept. 8, will explore the wonder of weather and the science behind it, Roker told Axios on Monday. Once you understand how something works, you're less afraid of it, he said.
The big picture: The Bentonville Film Festival, founded by actor Geena Davis, draws celebrities and film and TV industry professionals to NWA. The festival is in its 11th year, emphasizing the elevation of underrepresented groups in front of and behind the camera.
"I think the programming for the Bentonville Film Fest is something that's trusted," Roker said. "People come to expect a certain quality and caliber, so I was thrilled when we were asked to do this."
Zoom in: The show is about a fictional family, Al and Dot Hunter and their three children, who are weather hunters. The family moves into Al Hunter's grandfather's house after his grandfather passes away.
The fictional grandfather was a weatherman after coming home from World War II and serving as a meteorologist for the real-life Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots in the war.
"There was a cadre of meteorologists who forecast for the Tuskegee Airmen because they couldn't get enough white meteorologists to forecast for them, so they had a number of Black forecasters," Roker said.
What they're saying: "I play Al Hunter, a TV weatherman," Roker said. "He happens to be bald and African American and better-looking than me, but he wears glasses."
The show will explore everyday phenomena like dew and fog plus atypical weather like pink snow.
How it happened: Roker wanted to combine his fascination with weather and love of animation to create a show that educates and entertains kids as well as their parents and caregivers, he told Axios.
He had the idea nearly 20 years ago, when his children were the same ages as the fictional children in the series.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
Singer-Songwriter Steps on AGT Stage—Not Prepared for America's Response
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A singer-songwriter has exploded in popularity overnight after acing an audition on the competition show America's Got Talent (AGT). Recording artist Mama Duke, 37, from Austin Texas, has been "making music and writing jingles for as far back as I remember," including making beats on pencil and paper aged 14, and performing her creations for her classmates. On June 17, she found herself on the stage of AGT, performing an original track for Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara, and Mel B — and has become an instant viral hit. She called the AGT performance the "wildest mix of manifestation, hustle, and timing," having been performing and building her brand with the belief that "if I kept showing up as me, the right doors were bound to appear in front of me. "The moment the first audition opportunity landed in my lap, I knew that something must be brewing. Something as in some force or magic that was starting to surface. I could feel it." With plenty of songs under her belt, Duke decided on Feels So Good To Be You for her audition because she, like many who have since heard it, "knew I was sitting on a little bop." Her audition received four yeses and a standing ovation from both the judges and the thousands in the audience, with former Spice Girl Mel B declaring it was "already a hit." And commenters reacting to the clip on the America's Got Talent YouTube channel, viewed more than 580,000 times, agreed. Mama Duke speaks during her America's Got Talent audition, and right, Simon Cowell takes part in the standing ovation. Mama Duke speaks during her America's Got Talent audition, and right, Simon Cowell takes part in the standing ovation. America's Got Talent/ NBC "This is not an audition. THIS IS A PERFORMANCE," one wrote, as another asked "how on earth is this not a golden buzzer moment?" referencing the shortcut judges can use to put contestants through to the next round regardless of other judges' verdicts. "If radio stations start playing this, it will become an instant hit. Very fresh, very catchy, amazing voice," one said, as another agreed Duke is the "complete package." Duke told Newsweek it "feels like I won the lottery," and that overnight it appears she received "a platform to talk about my ideas and dreams without sounding crazy. That's what things like this do for artists like me. Gives us leverage to push for the things we've always known we deserve." She revealed that musician and record producer Ester Dean, who has written hits for the likes of Rihanna and Beyoncé, "slid into my DMs to congratulate me," which has been incredible as Duke has "looked up to her pen game for a while." Mama Duke performs her original track Feels So Good To Be You, as judge Sofía Vergara gets into the music. Mama Duke performs her original track Feels So Good To Be You, as judge Sofía Vergara gets into the music. America's Got Talent/ NBC Ten days after her audition, Feels So Good To Be You has almost 700,000 streams—ten times the number of her second biggest song. While Duke brought the house down with her track, to the point many are predicting superstardom for her career, she admits that although she appeared "confident and present and very much settled into myself," she almost doesn't remember the experience. "It's the weirdest thing! It's a feeling that a lot of people won't be able to understand unless you're standing on that stage in front of 4,000 people—and four of those people being the most important folks you'll ever audition for in my life." "You don't know nerves like these nerves," she said, "but somehow I found my confidence on stage and settled in." "I'll be chasing that high for the rest of my life, that's for sure." AGT airs weekly on Tuesdays, and sees the contestants who made it through the auditions battle it out in live shows to stay in the competition, with the winner receiving a $1 million prize. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@ with some extra details, and they could appear on our website.
Axios
10 hours ago
- Axios
More people are going to movie theaters — in their homes
Project requests for home theater installations soared 562% in 2024, Yelp reports, as homeowners splurge on features that rival their local cinema. Why it matters: The summer's hottest movie screenings might be in your — or your neighbor's — bonus room. What we're hearing: Paying to sit in a musty theater isn't as appealing as staying home, where amenities and snacks can be customized to personal preferences. Zoom in: "We're seeing growing interest in everything from full-scale theater renovations" to budget-friendly additions like blackout curtains, Yelp trend expert Tara Lewis tells Axios. Super-hosts can bring in pros to build custom snack stations, install the latest sound systems or curate plush decor. Between the lines: Theater chains have struggled to rebound from the pandemic, despite investing in new projectors, seats, bars and more. Most suburban megaplexes "feel like relics of a bygone era," actor and showrunner Danny McBride recently told The Hollywood Reporter. The intrigue: Movie rooms aren't the only home entertainment spaces making a comeback. Searches for Lego rooms, billiard rooms and video game rooms jumped double digits on Houzz, a home design site, earlier this year compared to last. The big picture: Lately, more people want to upgrade their current house instead of buying a new one, builders say. Americans spent an estimated $603 billion last year on home remodeling, far above pre-pandemic levels, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. But roller-coaster tariffs threaten to make everything from construction to flat-screen TVs costlier. What we're watching: That dream renovation might have to wait.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Parents Are Sharing The Most Embarrassing Things Their Kids Have Ever Said Or Done, And Honestly I'm Laughing My Butt Off
Recently, Reddit user FarmhouseRules posted to the popular ask subreddit to ask people, "What's the most embarrassing thing your kids have ever said or done?" She shared her own story first, writing, "Once I was shopping at the grocery with my 5-year-old son in the cart. As we were going down the aisle we passed a woman going the other way. Right after we passed her, my son said, 'Mom that's the ugliest man I've ever seen.' I was mortified." NBC Other people shared some pretty legendarily embarrassing stories, too, and I was honestly cackling. Here are some of the absolute best: 1."I was at checkout in K-Mart with my then 5-year-old daughter. I was buying her purple marshmallow Peeps. She told the cashier that purple was her favorite color. I said she had a new favorite color every week. This embarrassed my daughter, who said loudly, 'Mom, you have a new favorite boyfriend every week!'" "I was mortified and tried to assure everyone in line that I'd been with my boyfriend for three years." —u/tlk2mch 2."'MY MOM LOVES COCK PORN.' (He meant popcorn.)" ABC —u/milkandsalsa 3."My wife, my son, and I were at Disneyland. My son was 3 at this point. He had finished potty training just a few weeks prior to this. During potty training, we would use positive reinforcement, elling him that he was doing a good job, etc. etc. One of the things I told him was that he was pooping Iike a man now." "So anyway, my wife and I both had to poop at the same time. And we both really had to go. There was no waiting happening here. We couldn't leave my son alone, so I took him with me. I picked the big stall so we would both have some room. So I started to do my business, and my son loudly says, 'Ewww Daddy, that's a man poop daddy. That's a man poop.' I'm trying to get him to be quiet, but he just keeps going: 'Good job on the poop, Daddy. But Daddy, it smells. That sure is a man poop, Daddy.' Everyone in the bathroom was snickering, and I was sitting there mortified. It's hilarious now, but not so much at the time." —u/rodimus147 4."My 2-year-old son and I were in line at Kohl's and the woman behind me had vitiligo (a condition that causes the pigment in your skin to discolor, completely resulting in very blotchy skin). My son looked at her and gasped and said, 'Oh wow, I LOVE your polka dots!'" "Fortunately, she laughed and was so kind and said, 'Why THANK YOU!' She was so gracious and what could have been embarrassing became such a sweet moment. Hilarious though." —u/Donut_Interesting 5."We were at the zoo when my son was probably 5 or 6. He had run ahead to look at the zebras. He turned around and screamed, 'Mom, you won't believe how big this zebra's dick is!' I deeply considered walking past him with no acknowledgment." —u/raven_darkseid 6."Took my 3-year-old in to work with me on a Saturday when the office was closed. My coworker was there. I introduced him to my daughter. She recognized his name from me always complaining about him, looked him in the eye, and asked him, 'Are you the one who doesn't know what he is doing?'" "So embarrassing! He wouldn't talk to me for weeks." —u/CatsRock25 7."We were on a trail in the Smoky Mountains and a park ranger with an eye patch was talking to us about bears. Right when we finished the conversation and started walking away, my son said, 'Mommy, we just talked to a pirate!'" —u/sweetpea813 8."Not my kid, but it was said to me. I was riding the elevator up to the OB/GYN floor with a very pregnant woman and her about 3-year-old son. He looked at my belly and excitedly asked if I was going to have a baby, too. His mother was 14 shades of red with nowhere to hide! I told him no, I was just fat. He gave me a sad face and said, 'Well, next year.'" —u/PhoneboothLynn 9."When my oldest was about a year and a half old in the grocery store, he pointed to a baby and said 'ugly baby' clear as day and very loud." —u/Slag_Queen_Tsunade 10."My son told my daughter that her penis fell off and that's why he was a boy and she was a girl. She was upset for weeks." —u/Big-Kaleidoscope-192 11."When my son was little, we took him to mass with us. When the priest was consecrating the communion wafer, my son loudly and clearly said, 'Hey, I want one of those potato chips!'" Quim Llenas / Cover/Getty Images, Fox / Via —u/grannygogo 12."My son, bless his heart, waited until everyone had bowed their heads to pray but before the priest started the prayer, and in that moment of blessed silence, piped up 'I gotta poop!' as loud as he could." AMC —u/Imcbmc 13."I was waiting in the crowd for my number to be called at the deli counter with my 5-year-old. It was National Dairy Month, and the grocery store had a huge inflatable cow suspended from the ceiling above us. My daughter looked up and announced at the top of her lungs, 'Look, Mom, that cow has four penises!' The crowd roared." —u/VicePrincipalNero 14."My daughter announced to her whole class that girls get brains and boys get a penis. That was a whole parent/teacher conference." —u/SatanicWhoreofHell 15."I was the mortifying kid: in the middle of a Catholic mass, during one of the silent parts, I looked up at a man next to us. I looked back at my mom and loudly said, 'Mom, why does his forehead go back so far?'" HBO / Via "I'm sure I was a blast to raise. 💀" —u/Gold_Bug_4055 16."We were at my grandfather's funeral with my then 3-year-old son. We had told him that great-grandpa was really old and that's why he died. We met my grandparents' neighbor, who I knew growing up, and she is about 90. When she walked away, my son said, 'She's really nice. It's too bad she'll be dead soon.'" Disney Channel / Via —u/Historical-Stop5083 17."When my son was 3, we lived in a pretty rough neighborhood. His favorite thing was just riding his tricycle up and down the sidewalk, completely safe. One day I heard him greeting people in the manner that people greeted him when they walked by. He said, 'Hey, motherfucker!'" Warner Bros. —u/miseeker 18."Around Thanksgiving, we walked past a very old woman and the 5-year-old stopped to ask her about conditions on the Mayflower." NBC —u/Samiru27 19."This is about me at 5 years old in 1975. My mom used to tell this story. My dad at that time liked to listen to Deanna Durbin records on the living room stereo. Her picture was on the fronts of the albums, and he liked to tell me he was listening to his 'girlfriend' singing." "My mom took me shopping at a department store. We were in the elevator when a lady came in. I looked at her and said, 'You look just like my dad's girlfriend!' My mom said she was really embarrassed. The lady gave her a funny look." —u/Alman54 20."My kid was 5-ish and had started calling hot dogs weiners. At the grocery store, she said, very loudly, 'Mommy likes wieners!'" BBC —u/tallant13 21."Our oldest was about 3, my wife was pregnant with our second, and we were at dinner with friends who had a toddler in a high chair. Said toddler had food everywhere!" "My child looked at me and asked if our baby was going to be like that baby because 'this one makes me gag.' There is no way out of that awkwardness!" —u/st_nick5 22."About 20 years ago when our son was 2, we were having a small dinner party with friends at our home, and he went into our bedroom closet and found one of my wife's (adult) toys. He came running into the living room and started banging it against the coffee table." NBC / Via —u/Proper_Actuary8980 23."My kid, at 4, could burp like a truck driver. Sitting in a restaurant, she let out this massive burp, dove under the table to hide, and 25 strangers turned around to stare at me with mild disgust." Bon Appétit —u/Witty_Jello_8470 finally, "My lovely 3-year-old likes to yell 'HELP ME!!!' at the top of her lungs when she doesn't get her way, and she tends to not get her way and yell that in grocery stores and other public places." —u/CrockyCroc Okay, IDK about you, but I'm laughing my ass off at some of these. Tell me what you think in the comments below; or, even better, divulge your own embarrassing kid stories! They're so funny, I love to hear them. If you want to share but want to stay anonymous, you can always write into this anonymous form! Who knows — your comment could be included in a future BuzzFeed article.
