Tammy

Tammy is an American live-action children's television series that premiered on Nick Jr. on 1 November 2012. The series is a spin-off of KIDS. The series was created by Julie Mallory and Greg Muzik and co-commissioned by ViacomCBS. The series made its premiere in Australia on ABC4Kids and Nick Jr. Australia and in the United Kingdom on Nick Jr. UK. However, it is shown on Disney Junior Asia.

With the settings being both the city and the country, the series follows the titular 6-year-old purple armadillo (without a shell nor tail) who squeaks instead of talking. The armadillo lives with her father, Mr. T; mother, Mrs. T; and human friend, Erica, who regularly joins Tammy on adventures. The show is meant to teach kids about math and science concepts.

Animals

 * Tammy (performed by Julie Mallory): A 6-year-old purple armadillo puppet and Mr. and Mrs. T's daughter. She is excessively curious and often causes unintentional problems. She is used as the "teachable" character in the show, and she is the one to whom new concepts are explained in detail by the other characters.
 * Mr. T (performed by Tim Lagasse): An aardvark and Tammy's green bespactled father.
 * Mrs. T (performed by Pam Arciero): An anteater and Tammy's pink mother.
 * Roary (performed by "Peter"): A male pug. Roary is very proper and gentlemanly; he keeps vigil on the lobby of Erica and the armadillos' apartment building when his owner, Larry, is absent. Tammy's behavior is not enjoyed by Roary but despite this, he enjoys Tammy's company. However, Roary is very practical minded, and does not shy away from scolding Tammy for reckless antics.
 * Pinnochio (performed by "Mason"): A beige female cat, who is owned by Chef Spaghetti. She is very sedate and contemplative, frequently disregarding the surrounding people.
 * Clinton Squirrel: A male squirrel who lives in the country. Although he primarily stays in the trees, he will often end up involved with Tammy.
 * Bassoon: A blue male homing pigeon, also cared for by Larry. His sense of direction is substandard, he doesn't understand the word "armadillo."
 * Scruffy (performed by "Shelly"): A female golden retriever owned by Sid and Rebecca. Scrffy is very hyperactive, loves doing backflips, and frequently runs away from her caretakers. She is very skilled in opening and unlocking things.
 * Simon's Bunnies: Seven baby bunnies owned by Simon. Their names are Benjamin, Brooklyn, Bumper, Bryson, Blackie, Bria, and Bradley. He also owns their mother (Mommy Rabbit), whose burrowing abilities are highlighted in several episodes. In several episodes, most notably the perfect carrot, Bria and Blackie are omitted from the group, with Tammy expecting only five to be present.

Humans

 * Erica O'Barr:
 * A woman who originally accompanied Tammy on KIDS from 2007 to 2013. Erica often has bad luck and makes mistakes (such as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, tasting something terrible with a sour reaction, etc.). She is also absent-minded and a bit awkward.
 * She never gets angry with Tammy, no matter what Tammy does. It is unclear what his occupation is, but in The Invisible Sound he has been asked to survey animals around the country house, and in The Fully Automatic Armadillo Fun Hat, Dr. Morris has asked her to give a speech about the scientific method, Which may imply that he has the same occupation he held in the 2006 film.
 * She also is the leader of a troop of the Armadillos, to which Tammy and Simon belong. She owns a country house that has been in her family since her childhood; and also lives in a spacious, high-income apartment building in the city. Erica primarily drives a yellow convertible car as her main transportation to the country; however, she usually walks when staying in the apartment. Erica's hobbies include playing the tuba, bowling, sketching and painting pictures, and long-distance running.
 * Larry (portrayed by Theodore Miller): The doorman/bellhop for the apartment building in which Tammy, her parents, and Erica live. He is from Canada. He is Roary's owner. When on duty, he always wears his Canadian Mountie uniform. When he went camping with Tammy, Mr. and Mrs. T, and Roary, he took them to the Rocky Mountains. He is friendly and always loves to see Tammy as well as kiss and hump her. He keeps a coop of homing pigeons on the roof of the building. Like Erica, the Doorman's name is Tammy. The doorman has a noticeable Rocky Mountain accent. He is an alcoholic because in many episodes, you see him drink whisky a lot.
 * Professor Morris (performed by Ritamarie Peruggi): A scientist friend of Erica and Tammy. In different episodes she is seen to be a rocket scientist, and working at a local museum. Her name is a play on the words wise man. She seems to have an occupation directly related to Erica. She is frequently invited to spend time with Erica, Mr. and Mrs. T, and Tammy.
 * Chef Spaghetti (portrayed by Jason Jones) and Jetti: An Italian chef in the City who owns a restaurant with his wife. Tammy frequently visits him and often helps him by doing errands and chores around the restaurant. The Chef often uses the fresh vegetables he grows in a rooftop garden. Often, when things seem to go wrong, the Chef's catchphrase is "I'm Ruined!" He often threatens to never cook again if there is any problem with his food. He often refers to Tammy as the Italian equivalent "Tiarmo" and referred to Erica at least once with an Italian name when speaking to Tammy, calling her "Your redheaded friend".
 * The Jensens (portrayed by Arian Foster and Jack Baird): A couple who own a farm near the country house. They have horses, cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, a goat, a sheepdog named Map, and bees. Tammy also sometimes borrows materials from them, including a water pump and scrap lumber.
 * Frances (performed by Halle Berglund): The five-year-old granddaughter of the Jensens, who is first introduced in Tammy Meets Frances where she and Tammy become fast friends. Allie is a very perky and spunky little girl who is about Tammy's height and is as adventurous and curious as she. Mrs. Renkins refers to her as a “spark plug.” When she first meets Tammy, she is excited and eager to learn the ways of an armadillo.
 * Simon (portrayed by Alfred Morellos): Tammy's neighbor from across the street in the country. He owns a hutch of bunnies and has a paper route. He also enjoys flying kites, but seems to be an acrophobic. Simon has a copious knowledge of many subjects, but apparently does not realize that Tammy is an armadillo and often refers to her as a "city kid" to explain the odd things Tammy does.
 * Sid (portrayed by Drew Johnson) and Rebecca (portrayed by Amy Morris): Siblings from Tammy's neighborhood in the city. They live with their Aunt Minerva and their dog, Scruffy. Sid likes video games and is always "going for a record" of some kind. He is the older child of the duo, and is always obtaining ideas on how to solve a problem. He often tells Tammy, "I'm in fifth grade. This has to work." In the episode Birthday Disaster, their Aunt called him by his full name, Sidney. Rebecca is more responsible and caring, and is often pulling a red wagon. She is frequently annoyed at Sid, and has to fix his mistakes. She is in third grade. Simon is seemingly the country counterpart to Sid and Rebecca. The first episode they appear together is "Birthday Disaster."
 * Mr. Spoon (portrayed by Stanley Stokes): A man who owns a building known as "Ye'Olde China Shoppe" and hires window washers in the City. In his debut episode, he has Tammy clean his windows after she helped Chef Spaghetti dry dishes in his kitchen. Later, Tammy uncovers a catastrophic flaw in a building that Mr. Spooon was constructing, though Mr. Spoon is still pleased with the building's new angular shape, deciding that it will save money and even rewards Tammy with a new dollar bill. He likes things to be unique. On a few occasions, he yells at Tammy for doing something she wasn't supposed to do, though he is still pleased with her. Mr. Spoon is very wealthy and speaks with a high pitched accent.
 * Friendly Old Stu
 * Doodles: The armadillos' upstairs neighbor in the City. Mr. Zoobel is a painter in a modern (non-representational) style who sometimes uses stamps shaped like animal feet. He has a de-scented pet skunk named Stinky, a gopher snake named Justin, and two mice named Stan and Jack. When he first moved in, he used the stamps so much it made a loud stomping noise in the armadillos' apartment downstairs making Tammy think he lived with a giant bird.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Handford: Mr. Quint is one of Tammy's country friends, Jordan Handford is an avid fisherman and one of a set of quintuplets. His siblings are a sister who is a track runner (Jayden), a brother who is a train-station master (Jose), a brother who is a police officer (Jeff), and a sister who prints money (Jenny).

Episodes
The first series premiered on Nick Jr. on 1 November 2012, with 26 episodes airing daily.

Broadcast
Tammy premiered on international Nick Jr. channels in February 2013. The distribution deal encompasses the first two seasons of the series. The series premiered on Nick Jr. UK and Australia both on 9 February 2013, and was followed by a debut on ABC2 in Australia on 28 April 2013. The series also airs on Disney Junior in Asia and South Africa.

Critical Reception
Tammy has enjoyed a positive reception, with producers stating that the studio has received daily fan mail from parents of young viewers. The series received a seal of approval from Common Sense Media, with reviewer Emily Ashby commending its positive science and math themes. Tammy was praised by Richmond Times-Dispatch for its "sharp script" and depiction of STEM topics, while noting that its city and country backgrounds set it apart from other children's shows on television. Readers of The New York Times's parenting blog submitted Tammy as their favorite children's show, describing it as charming, smart and "very real". The series was called "laugh-out-loud funny" by The Baltimore Sun.

The series received praise for its constructive parenting messages, and depiction of Erica O'Barr as a positive big sister figure. The actress was commended for her patient nature, willingness to play with Tammy. Jennifer McClellan of USA Today described O'Barr as "sarcastic, sympathetic and silly". She has been received as "more emotionally intelligent" than the man in the yellow hat from Curious George. Mallory stated that the series has reminded older siblings "to be more playful with their kids". However, the morals of the episodes are not viewed to be excessively saccharine. The Richmond Times-Dispatch acknowledged the family dynamic of the characters; she described Mrs. T as the "voice of reason," and that Mrs. and Mr. T are more realistic than the parents on most kids shows.