Today’s Special ran from 1981 to 1988 with 7 seasons and 122 episodes. The show sought to provide preschool-level learning in dance, poetry, music, picture reading, and cognitive learning, until later also appealing to older youth audiences.
Actor, Broadcaster, Educator
Nerene Virgin was a fifth-generation Hamiltonian whose work spanned education, television, journalism, and Black history advocacy. She first worked as a teacher before gaining national recognition in the 1980s as Jodie on TVO’s Today’s Special (1981–1987). The series aired in Canada and the United States and became a defining part of her career. Reflecting in 2023, Virgin said she “had no idea at the time how important that show would be,” noting that young Black viewers repeatedly told her how meaningful it was “to see someone like you… empathetic, smart, capable, talented” on their television screens.
After Today’s Special, Virgin hosted CTV’s Eye on Toronto and, in the mid-1990s, worked for CBC-TV, anchoring Saturday Report and hosting programs on Newsworld and Newsworld International.
Virgin was active in public life, running as a provincial Liberal candidate in 2007. She spent many years writing and teaching Canadian Black history, contributing biographies to Historica Canada, speaking in Hamilton schools, and helping preserve local Black heritage, including at Stewart Memorial Church. She later founded Cabinda Consulting, specializing in anti-racism education and workplace training.