Alisa Obrivanova and Wonderama’s New Mission

For generations of New York children, Wonderama was part of the weekend routine. There were games, giveaways, musical performances and the possibility of seeing someone your own age on television. The appeal was easy to understand: children were invited to join the fun, and their excitement was the whole point.

The original show ran on Metromedia stations from 1955 to 1986. When Wonderama returned in 2016, it brought that same invitation to children growing up in a very different world. Television was now one screen among many. Entertainment, friendships and schoolyard disagreements could follow a child home through a phone.

That change gives a children’s entertainment program something substantial to think about. How do you preserve the freedom and silliness that make a show enjoyable while acknowledging the pressures its audience faces?

For Wonderama co-host Alisa Obrivanova, that question has become part of the job.

A Familiar Face With a Growing Role

A model, spokesperson and television personality, Obrivanova has become a recognizable presence in Wonderama’s Times Square broadcasts. Appearing alongside Chuckie, also known as Chuck Armstrong, and longtime host David Osmond, she helps bring order and personality to events with plenty of moving parts.

Live family entertainment demands a particular kind of attention. A host has to keep the program moving while making room for the unexpected. Children rarely respond according to a production schedule, and a public broadcast adds noise, distractions and an audience whose attention has to be earned.

Obrivanova’s role puts her directly in that mix. Her appearances have included Wonderama’s 24-hour New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, where the setting itself becomes part of the performance.

But the larger story is how that visibility is being used. As Wonderama broadens its focus, Obrivanova is helping present a message about inclusion and children’s well-being alongside the entertainment.

Making Room for Everyone

That direction was evident at the Wonderama Wonder Games in Times Square on August 25, 2026. Built around the phrase “The Games Everyone Can Play,” the event brought together performers, student gamers, digital creators, educators, technology leaders, nonprofit organizations and families.

Obrivanova co-hosted with Osmond and Chuckie, helping guide an event that placed different kinds of participation on the same public stage.

The musical lineup included Kylie Marshall, Renee Leavitt and Big Ocean, the Korean group whose members have hearing loss. Big Ocean’s presence gave the event’s theme a concrete expression. For young viewers, seeing performers with different experiences and abilities can expand their understanding of who belongs onstage.

That matters at an age when children are constantly taking cues about what they can attempt and where they might fit in. A performance can make that possibility visible without turning it into a lecture.

FENIX360, named a launch partner for the Wonder Games, also connected the celebration with the world of digital creators. It was a fitting connection for an event addressing children whose entertainment moves easily between live experiences, television and online platforms.

Bringing Online Safety Into the Picture

One of the day’s central moments came when Obrivanova and Chuckie presented Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut with the first Wonderama Award, recognizing his work on children’s online safety.

Blumenthal co-sponsored the Kids Online Safety Act with Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. The proposal seeks stronger protections for young people using online platforms, including safeguards and tools intended to help families manage their children’s experiences.

The presentation placed a serious subject inside a family entertainment event. That can be a useful setting for a conversation that often feels remote from everyday life. Parents may hear about legislation in a news report, then struggle to connect the debate with what happens when their child opens an app.

Wonderama’s involvement brought the issue closer to its audience. The children enjoying the performances are also the children whose digital experiences adults are trying to improve.

For Obrivanova, presenting the award made her part of that connection. Her work that day extended beyond introducing performers and keeping the broadcast moving. She helped give the show’s concern for its audience a public expression.

Taking the Message Beyond Times Square

In September, Obrivanova and Chuckie visited Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, where they again recognized Blumenthal’s work on the Kids Online Safety Act.

The location made sense. A zoo is somewhere families spend time together, ask questions and follow a child’s curiosity. Bringing Wonderama there put its hosts in a setting where the audience could encounter them away from a television screen.

It also gave continuity to the message introduced in Times Square. Online safety remained part of the conversation after the larger event had ended.

For a program with a long history, these appearances offer a way to stay connected with the people it serves. Familiarity gets a family’s attention; what the show does with that attention determines whether the relationship grows.

What Wonderama Can Carry Forward

There is a temptation, when discussing a revived television program, to measure everything against the original. Were the games better? Does the new version feel the same? Can children today love something their parents or grandparents remember?

Those questions miss some of what makes a revival interesting. A children’s show has to respond to the children watching it now.

Wonderama can carry forward its enthusiasm, its openness and its belief that young people deserve to be included. It can also acknowledge that caring about its audience involves paying attention to what happens after the broadcast ends.

Obrivanova’s growing role sits within that responsibility. Through the Wonder Games, the award presentation and appearances with families, she is helping connect a familiar entertainment name with concerns that shape childhood today.

The games still matter. So do the music, the laughter and the chance to be part of something exciting. A show earns its place in a child’s life through those experiences.

Wonderama’s opportunity is to build on that trust. With Obrivanova helping carry its message, the program is giving families another reason to pay attention—and something to talk about when the entertainment is over.