Doc McStuffins

When a toy is “injured,” young Doc McStuffins and an assortment of toy helpers open her clinic to diagnose and heal the ailing plaything. A charming show for preschoolers, created by Chris Nee, Doc McStuffins is as fun as it is rich with social messaging. While teaching children not to be scared of a trip to the doctor and encouraging them not to hide inner pains, but instead to talk things through with others, the series refreshingly centers its action on a young African-American girl who is a skilled doctor and engineer. What is more, her expertise at fixing toys is acknowledged and respected by those around her: everyone knows that Doc, like her mother, a “real” physician, is the best at what she does. Season Two upped its ante, offering some toys whose injuries cannot be cured, thereby encouraging children to appreciate and accept differently abled friends. It also offered a princess who preferred to save the prince, and more of the delightfully impish evil king. Doc‘s imprint is widely evident in the inspiration it gave to the Artemis Society, a group of women physicians of color, and in thousands of young girls sporting stethoscopes and offering diagnoses rather than waiting simply to be saved or married. For giving children’s television a needed check-up, and for prescribing the confident, compassionate, problem-solving young Doc, Doc McStuffins is honored with a Peabody Award.