Video: Jono’s Back for Purim

Just in time for Purim, Chabad.org’s Itche Kadoozy Show is back by massive popular demand with its first new episode since last Pesach. The new episode features Jono teaching about the mitzvos of the holiday but keen-eyed fans of the hit web series may notice something else. Itche’s beloved sidekick Jono looks just a little bit different than before.

That’s because this video features a brand new Jono puppet. IKS creator and producer, Dovid Taub who recently moved from London to Pittsburgh has been working on new IKS scripts and a number of new puppets, including a brand new Jono.

“This is actually Jono 3.0,” says Taub, alluding to the fact that three different Jono puppets have been used since the series began to air on Chabad.org in 2004. The first Jono puppet was replaced after Season 1 of IKS and can be seen in Koshermentary and only a handfull of other episodes. The most well-known Jono puppet, Jono 2.0, was introduced in The Hebrew Lesson and was used for over 100 episodes over the past seven years.

Interesting to note, Pesach Episode 3 which is due to air after Purim was shot before the making of Jono 3.0 and will feature the old Jono 2.0 even though it is coming out later.

What many fans may not know is that puppet Jono is actually the likeness of a real Jono, Taub’s childhood friend and creative partner, Jonathan Goorvich, who helped him develop the series and co-writes most of the IKS scripts.