Disney Junior, a 24-hour basic cable/satellite channel expressly for kids ages 2-7 years old and their parents/caregivers, will launch Friday, March 23 (12:00 midnight, ET/PT) in the U.S.

The new channel will feature daily telecasts of Disney Junior's hit series, "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", as well as some returning favorites including "Imagination Movers", "Jo Jo's Circus", "Rolie Polie Olie" and "Higglytown Heroes".  Premiering with the new channel is "Doc McStuffins", an imaginative new animated series about six-year-old girl, Doc McStuffins, who can talk to her stuffed animals and toys and runs a clinic for them out of her backyard playhouse.  Keep reading to learn more!

From dealing with the anxiety and fear associated with something as simple as removing a splinter to something as big as an overnight hospital stay, "Doc McStuffins" showcases the importance of good health, hygiene, compassion and nurturing and invites young viewers to become active participants in their own health.

The heartwarming stories, each featuring an original song, follow Doc as she speaks to the stuffed animal and toy world - and they talk to her too, especially when they need her help repairing a stitch or bandaging a boo-boo.  Along the way, Doc and her friends Stuffy, Lambie, Hallie and Chilly impart helpful tips about self care and care for others, and chase away the worries over visiting the doctor.

The idea for the series stems from creator/executive producer Chris Nee's own experience as a mom to her 5-year-old son, Theo, who at age two, developed severe asthma.  After spending a lot of time in and out of doctor's offices, hospitals and even ambulances and witnessing her son's anxiety around doctors, she came up with the concept for "Doc McStuffins".

Her hope is that the show will help make everything from doctor's visits to removing a band-aid less scary for kids.  The series' health and medical consultant is Sandra de Castro Buffington of USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center's Hollywood, Health & Society.

In addition to "Doc McStuffins", the 24-hour Disney Junior channel will feature new editions of the acclaimed short-form series "A Poem Is..." with celebrity narrators Laura Linney, Viola Davis, John Leguizamo, Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson and Liev Schreiber reciting poetry set to classic Disney animation, as well as the premiere of the new short-form series "Quiet Is...", a tender animated series that delves into the idea of what "quiet is".

The 24-hour channel will also bring the premiere of two new series into the Disney Junior programming line-up - "Guess How Much I Love You" and "Gaspard and Lisa".  Both based on children's storybooks, "Gaspard and Lisa" will air on both the new 24-hour Disney Junior channel, as well as on the popular Disney Junior daily programming block on Disney Channel, while "Guess How Much I Love You", will air exclusively on the 24-hour Disney Junior channel.

And finally, the new channel will also be home to "Magical World of Disney Junior", a weekend movie block featuring telecasts of Disney's vast array of classic and contemporary movies, including "Beauty and the Beast", "Bambi", "Dumbo", "The Princess and the Frog", "Cars", "Toy Story 2", "Monsters, Inc.",  and "Aladdin", among others.