Mariel Salcedo, Erin Newins, Tyler Coe, Elyse Willems, Barry the Beaver, and Barbara Dunkelman, the stars of upcoming mental health show How Are We Today? All seven episodes of season 1 will air on Austin PBS later this year, but the team needs your help to complete postproduction before the series debut.

If ever there was a time for a new show that will help you with your mental health, it’s right now. Luckily, some of Austin’s most familiar online creators are coming together for a new show that’s intended to entertain, educate, and support audiences, and you can help bring it to the small screen.

Inspired by childhood favorites like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street, How Are We Today? focuses on three neighbors, played by Tyler Coe, Barbara Dunkelman, and Mariel Salcedo, who are navigating their own mental health issues. The show concentrates on how they find ways to cope together, with the important message that it’s OK to not be OK, and that people will be there for you. That includes resident licensed clinical psychologist Erin Newins, or Doctor Erin as the trio call her, and Barry the Beaver (brought to life by puppeteer Elyse Willems).

If some of those names sound familiar, it may be because much of the creative team are veterans of legendary online studio Rooster Teeth. Coe was cohost of two shows, Sportsball and Tuesday Night Game Fight, while Willems was a key member of the Funhaus gaming-centric division before creating Last Laugh. As for Dunkelman – beyond achieving international fame as the voice of Yang on American anime smash RWBY – she was host of the Always Open mental health podcast, which was in many ways a precursor to this show and also regularly featured Salcedo, who worked behind the scenes on many RT shows.

Explaining the show, the producers write, “How Are We Today? aims not only to entertain and educate but to change the entire conversation around mental health and how it’s approached in our homes and schools. We are single-mindedly focused on creating a movement built on kindness, empathy, and understanding that will impact countless lives.”

All seven episodes of season 1 were filmed last year, and the great news is that it will air later this year on Austin PBS. However, the producers are now raising funds to cover postproduction costs – and that’s where you can help.

You can back the series now via Kickstarter. Backer perks stretch from inclusion in the credits all the way to a set visit for season 2, and some lucky supporters will even get to take home their very own yellow guy, the smiling mascot of the show. They’re hoping to raise $50,000 by Saturday, March 15, so there’s plenty of time to become part of this supportive community.

Find out more about the series at howarewetoday.com.

This article appears in February 14 • 2025.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.