Twinkle, Twinkle, Time for Bed

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**Twinkle, Twinkle, Time for Bed** is an American live-action children's television series on The Kiddie Channel which premiered in 2021. It was created by Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver. The show airs from 9pm to 10pm ET.

It is designed to help preschoolers get ready for bedtime. The show features recurring themes based on preschoolers' nightly routines, such as dreams, brushing teeth, and cleaning up before bed. Throughout the half-hour show, viewers (referred to as "Kiddies") are encouraged to participate in various games, songs, crafts, and more. Activities and games generally revolve around a theme, and take place between theme-appropriate segments.

In early 2023, the show eventually spawned an animated spin-off titled *Twinkling with the Stars*.

## Plot

In this show, crafts, cartoons and songs are used to say goodnight. The introduction also features beautiful illustrations. Nadella helps everyone go to sleep with her many soothing methods. After all other characters have been put to bed, there is just Nadella still up. The last segment is of her waving goodnight, then turns out her light, then everyone is asleep.

The show's bedtime routine involves brushing teeth, brushing hair, singing the show's theme song as a quiet lullaby, cuddling with each other, and a kiss goodnight.

## Segments

1. **Moonbeam Box** - The first segment involves Nadella and Night Light looking inside their Moonbeam Box to discover the episode's theme.
2. **Night Time Sky** - This segment involves many different constellations. Nadella and Night Light look at the night sky with their telescope.
3. **Little Dreamer, Light Up Bright!** *-* The next segment features an animated game resembling hide-and-seek in which Little Dreamer, a firefly puppet, will light up and viewers need to guess where she is.
4. **Crafting Activity** - This segment involves a different craft or art project based on the episode's theme.
5. **Storytime** - In certain episodes where Nadella's children are featured, she will read them a story, also based on the episode's theme.
6. **Nadella and Night Light's Early Life** - In these segments, only appearing in the fifth season, Nadella would read Night Light (and occasionally her kids) stories of her childhood experiences.
7. **Bedtime Routines** - This segment involves brushing teeth and washing your face through song and dance, and Night Light would go to sleep.
8. **Lights Out!** - The final segment involves Night Light being reluctant about going to bed so he can get plenty of rest when he's ready for tomorrow. He says, "I'm not ready to go to sleep yet". But Nadella tells him that it's time for bed and "dream about the wonderful adventures that you can have tomorrow". In the end, Night Light is able to say goodnight, and he goes to sleep. Then after Nadella tucks him into bed, she quietly sings the theme song and goes to sleep herself.

## Characters

For most of the show's run, it has been hosted by Nadella, alongside Night Light and Little Dreamer. Other characters, such as Melania, Mason, and Leonardo, were all introduced as recurring co-hosts.

### Main

* **Nadella** (played by Sara Linton) is the longest-running host of the show. She believes that rest and relaxation are the cornerstones to wellness, and tries to help everyone get their required sleep by bestowing good dreams and happy thoughts. Nadella soon reappears as an animated character in the spin-off *Twinkling with the Stars*.
* **Night Light** (voiced by Stacia Newcomb) is a yellow stuffed toy puppet who served as the co-host and the child character. He often enjoys acting out bedtime routines such as reading a bedtime story or singing a lullaby. In some episodes, Night Light did not want to go to sleep at bedtime and needed some coaxing from Nadella. He soon returned in *Twinkling with the Stars* as an animated character.
* **Little Dreamer** is a star-shaped firefly. She is mostly featured in games, such as *Little Dreamer, Light Up Bright*; in this game, she will usually hide behind objects (as though they are illuminated by a firefly's light) and then viewers will guess where she is hiding. She was originally depicted as a glowing finger puppet, but she later becomes a CGI character. She soon returned in *Twinkling with the Stars* as an animated character.

### Supporting

* **Melania** (played by Carly Velasquez) is Nadella's energetic and artistic daughter who holds up finger puppets and paper cut-outs. She is very outgoing and often sings upbeat dance songs. When Little Dreamer started to glow, Melania took her out to let her fly around the garden. Melania hosted 6 episodes and continued to appear as a recurring character in later seasons.
* **Mason** (played by Maller Mattarusky) is Nadella's toddler son and Melania's younger brother. He continued to appear as a recurring character in later seasons.
* **Leonardo** (played by Jeffrey Tolliver) is a calm and level-headed gardener who looked after various flowers. He often taught the viewers about different flowers and how to plant them. He also took care of a firefly named Little Dreamer, who liked to sleep in Leonardo's pocket. Leonardo hosted 5 episodes and continued to appear as a recurring character in later seasons.

## Settings

Nadella's bedroom is the show's only setting. It is a children's room with a bed by the window, purple curtains, small green plants, shelves, lamp, toys, and circle-patterned brick walls, among other things.

## Theme music

A soft music-box tune is covered as a theme song for the series, often with night-time sounds in the background.

## Reception and fate

The show received criticism from various parents and reviewers, which likened the show to "a TV version of a sleeping pill for toddlers." It criticized Kiddie for implying that its programming will ease children into sleep when research suggests that screen time before bed undermines healthy sleep habits. Harvard University psychologists urged Kiddie to cancel *Twinkle, Twinkle, Time for Bed* for keeping children awake rather than helping them go to sleep. The president of Kiddie, Reilly Scribbner, denied that the show was misleading, stating that "*Twinkle, Twinkle, Time for Bed* is not a sleep drug for children... it's a tool for parents to help them establish a bedtime routine for their preschooler."

According to Common Sense Media, the Kiddie channel aimed "to follow a day in the life of a child and thus created a series called *Twinkle, Twinkle, Time for Bed* in 2021". The show was scripted and filmed at Kiddie studios. The show premiered in 2021, with Sara Linton as the permanent host.

However, in early 2023, the series was cancelled and replaced with an animated prequel named *Twinkling with the Stars*, which focuses on the host Nadella, as an 8-year-old girl who lives with her family and friends in an unknown city, alongside co-hosts Night Light and Little Dreamer.