Madeline Fretz - The Sunny Side Up Show has had more than 50,000 viewer submissions and more than a thousand live blockisodes since its launch in 2007. HiT Entertainment even gave it two compilation video DVDs in 2010 - Safety First and Lend a Helping Hand.
It was created because Sprout's senior Vice President of programming, Andrew Beecham, knew he wanted a live show, so Sprout executives pitched one of their own in which the hosts could talk about a different theme each week while reading viewer-submitted content and having special guests from Sprout. They played around with potential names before coming up with one referencing eggs - The Sunny Side Up Show! Since the block's title was a reference to eggs, Sprout's Betsy Oliphant Ross wanted the animal puppet co-host to be a chicken, although Beecham didn’t think preschoolers could connect well with chickens. They chose the name Chica for the new character, and played around with a few potential designs for the puppet before settling on the one we know by Victoria Ellis. Preschoolers at the time were learning to get dressed, so Sprout executives wanted a segment with an online game and later app to model that, which then became "Dress Chica." (source) One of the reasons Chica squeaked instead of talking was because her puppeteer was also an associate producer. (source)
Originally, hosts and crew rehearsed in a studio in Haddon Heights, New Jersey. The only time Sprout has gone live prior to The Sunny Side Up Show was a Hooray for Mother's Day broadcast hosted by The Birthday Show's Kevin Yamada. At the time, Yamada was excited about reading viewers' birthday cards live. (source)
Each show aired from 9AM to 12PM (noon) ET sharp. At the start of each show, the host and Chica greeted the viewers, checked the date and weather, and introduced the weekly theme, while linking into the first show (usually Fireman Sam or Roary the Racing Car). The host led Chica and the viewers through a variety of activities relating to that theme throughout the week. For example, the video up above's theme was "Dress Up." During split-screen credits, the host would read a message from the viewers ("Tell Chica") based on the theme. During the final link, the host would read more messages and then tell viewers to stay tuned for The Sprout Sharing Show and The Good Night Show which were coming on later that day. They said goodbye to the viewers and linked into the show that was coming on at noon (usually Caillou), while a website promo directly followed.
Sprout rebranded in 2015 for its tenth anniversary, and with it came a new city apartment set which replaced the Sunshine Barn and had touch screens, since the viewers were using them a lot nowadays. A few new segments and shows were introduced at the time, and the block itself was renamed Sunny Side Up. The last show in the Sunshine Barn was September 18th.
The live formatting eventually became hard work for the crew, so they decided to do two things - STOP airing the block live during its last few broadcasts (until August 11th, 2017, a month before Universal Kids was introduced), and then replace it with a pre-recorded interstitial series called Sprout House (later Snug's House), which premiered on August 14th. Sprout House had more camera angles and shots from hand-helds. It was hosted by Sunny Side Up's Carly Ciarrocchi, a new dog puppet named Snug (Chris Palmeri), and a human character named TJ (Donnell Smith). Together, the three made crafts and recipes, played games, sang songs, hosted "Birthday Parade" segments, and interacted with celebrity guests and children’s bands who visited. As for Chica, it would be foolish to downplay her, so she was still occasionally featured in segments such as "Chica at School."
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