Hi-5 is an Australian children's television series, originally produced by Kids Like Us and later Southern Star for the Nine Network, created by Helena Harris and Posie Graeme-Evans.

The original cast was composed of Kellie Crawford, Kathleen de Leon Jones, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson.

[5] Linguistics and aural skills are at the centre of the Word Play segment, featuring a puppet named Chatterbox who assists in the exploration of language through stories and rhymes.

This segment focuses on the discovery of language through simple words and phrases, and features the puppet Chatterbox, who teaches a toy robot named Tinka (Ellen Wright-Folan) how to speak.

[11] Harris stated that her inspiration for Hi-5 came partly from living in England, where she realised that children are the same around the world, and expected the show would appeal universally, with accessible themes such as family and animals.

[12] The creators saw the need for "life-affirming" television for rapidly maturing preschoolers, and found that most children learned from shows which incorporated movement and song.

[13][19][15][20] Hi-5 was granted a P classification, deeming it specifically designed to meet the needs and interests of pre-schoolers and allowing it to be broadcast on the Nine Network with a 30-minute runtime commercial-free.

[28] The Hi-5 brand was purchased by the Nine Network, along with production company Southern Star, in March 2008, from previous owners Harris and Graeme-Evans.

[33] The thirteenth and final series of the original Hi-5 premiered on 17 October 2011, in which the program's musical history was recognised by reintroducing previous songs to a new generation of fans.

[35] In June 2012 the Nine Network announced that the Hi-5 brand has been sold in its entirety to Asian equity group, Asiasons, following Nine's reported financial difficulties.

[38] CEO of Nine Entertainment, Hugh Marks, revealed his role in the program's reintroduction, citing his belief that the series would still be relevant in an updated climate, while expecting significantly lower viewership.

[5][15] The cast are presented as older siblings to the children, educating the audience in a fun and entertaining way, through "play based learning", rather than appearing as adults who are teaching them.

[46] Harris and Graeme-Evans based the series around an underlying educational structure, primarily using Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.

[5] Harris observed that most viewers had a favourite cast member, believing that children generally "respond more favourably to the presenter who models the learning style they prefer".

[6] The skills of pre-numeracy and pre-literacy are a focus of the educational theory, to prepare children for learning at school, while also encouraging self-confidence and expression.

[47] According to the show's website, Hi-5 also uses Piaget's theory of cognitive development, providing a learning experience that promotes individual growth.

Physical interaction is encouraged, and heavily featured to make the show relatively fast-paced, originally to replicate the energy of contemporary music videos.

The first series of Hi-5 was broadcast in 1999 and quadrupled the ratings and audience share in its timeslot, previously occupied by programs including Here's Humphrey.

Hi-5 was described by US magazine Kidscreen as a "combination of Spice Girls-esque musical performances and Sesame Street educational content".

In a 2011 survey by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM), Hi-5 was identified by parents as a "controversial program", eliciting both positive and negative evaluations about its quality.

[63] Some surveyed parents expressed concern that the clothes and costuming of the cast was inappropriate for a young audience, and labelled it as "premature sexualisation".

[63] However, in 2002, Harris stated that the producers were very careful about addressing body image issues and keeping the cast "concealed", believing Hi-5 helped to influence appropriate fashion in young people.

[64] Joly Herman of Common Sense Media questioned the quality and consistency of the program's educational material, noting the use of music as "arbitrary".

[65] On the contrary, a sample of parents in the ACCM survey praised Hi-5, listing it as an example of a musical program which is not "coupled with commercialism".

The debut album of the group, Jump and Jive with Hi-5, corresponded with the first series of the show and was released in September 1999 by Sony Music, reaching No.

[53] Robinson said members were encouraged to write their own music for the group, and as of 2015, she was still receiving occasional royalty cheques for her work.

[30] In 2013, a spin-off series entitled Hi-5 House was created under new management to continue the Hi-5 concept with a refreshed appeal.

The new series remained similar to the original concept, but featured a new setting; a house in which the cast members would live and present the show.