If you’ve spent any time at all watching PBS Kids or TVOKids over the last decade, you know the drill. Things get weird. A giant pizza falls on a building. A kid starts doubling every time they sneeze. And then, two kids in suits show up with gadgets that shouldn't work but do.
For a huge chunk of the show's run, one of those kids was Agent Otis, played by the incredibly talented Isaac Kragten.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild how many people still confuse the actor with the character. You’ve got this guy who, in real life, is an award-winning dancer from Ontario with a killer smile. Then you flip to Odd Squad, and he’s this stone-faced, socially reserved investigator who treats a math problem like a bomb disposal.
But there’s a lot more to the "Isaac from Odd Squad" phenomenon than just a kid in a blazer.
The Mystery of the Agent Who Never Went to the Academy
When Season 2 kicked off, fans were pretty shook. Olive and Otto—the original duo played by Dalila Bela and Filip Geljo—were gone. In their place stepped Agent Olympia (Anna Cathcart) and the mysterious Otis.
Here’s the thing that bugged everyone for years: Otis didn’t have a record. Unlike every other agent who slogged through the Odd Squad Academy to learn how to use a Centigrade-inator, Otis just... appeared. He was seasoned. He was professional. He was basically the James Bond of Precinct 13579, minus the gadgets (well, okay, he had the gadgets, too).
It wasn't until the big reveal in the episode "Who is Agent Otis?" that we got the real tea. It turns out he wasn't exactly a normal recruit. He was actually raised by villainous ducks. Yes, you read that right. Ducks.
This backstory explains why he’s so serious. If you were raised by a family of mallard masterminds, you’d probably have some trust issues and a weird relationship with bread, too. Ms. O (Millie Davis) found him, saw his potential, and personally trained him. That makes him one of the only agents in history to be mentored directly by the Big O herself.
Isaac Kragten: The Talent Behind the Tie
Let’s talk about Isaac Kragten for a second.
He wasn't just some kid who got lucky at an open call. The guy is a legit performer. Before he was ever solving math crimes, he was tearing up the stage in dance competitions. A judge actually spotted him at a competition and suggested he get an agent.
That dance background is probably why he has such insane physical comedy skills. Even when he’s standing perfectly still as Otis, his timing is surgical.
- Born: May 16, 2002, in Caledonia, Ontario.
- The Big Win: He won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017 for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program. That's a massive deal.
- Post-Odd Squad: He didn’t just vanish. He’s been in Breakthrough, The War with Grandpa (with Robert De Niro!), and more recently, the show Shoresy.
It’s always funny to see him in other roles because he’s actually quite expressive. Watching him play "Pete" in Mistletoe Murders or showing up in Luckiest Girl Alive is a total 180 from the "no-nonsense" vibe he had to maintain for 35 episodes of Odd Squad.
Why the Otis and Olympia Dynamic Actually Worked
A lot of shows fail when they swap out the main cast. Odd Squad didn’t. Why?
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Because the contrast between Isaac Kragten and Anna Cathcart was gold. Olympia is a human sunbeam. She loves pandas, she’s loud, and she’s constantly vibrating with energy. Otis, meanwhile, is the human equivalent of a library.
This wasn't just a random pairing. It was a classic "odd couple" trope that let the show explore math concepts through their different perspectives. Olympia would dive in headfirst; Otis would calculate the trajectory before taking a single step.
People often ask why Otis was so afraid of ducks. It felt like a throwaway gag for the first half of the season. But once the "Villain Duck" origin story dropped, it recontextualized every weird look he gave a pond. It added a layer of depth that most kids' shows don't bother with. He wasn't just "the serious guy"—he was a guy trying to outrun a past he was ashamed of.
Life After the Suit: Where is He Now?
It’s 2026, and Isaac has grown up quite a bit since his days in the precinct.
He’s managed to do what a lot of child actors struggle with: transition into "grown-up" roles without a massive public meltdown. He’s stayed busy in the Canadian film industry and continues to pop up in gritty dramas and comedies alike.
Interestingly, his sister, Hattie Kragten, is also in the business. She’s done voice work for Snoopy in Space and appeared in Abby Hatcher. It’s clearly a talented household.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Aspiring Actors
If you're looking to follow the career of the guy who brought Otis to life, or if you're just a fan of the show's lore, here's what you should actually do:
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- Watch "World Turned Odd": If you want to see Isaac's best work as Otis, this television film is the peak. It showcases his chemistry with the rest of the cast and gives him some of his most emotional beats.
- Follow his dance journey: If you can find clips of his early dance competitions, do it. It explains so much about how he carries himself on screen.
- Check out "The Kid Detective": For a more mature look at his acting range, he plays a character named Billy in this 2020 film. It’s a great bridge between his "kid star" era and his current work.
- Don't skip "Shoresy": Seeing Otis in a hockey-centric comedy like Shoresy is the ultimate palette cleanser for anyone who only knows him from PBS.
Isaac Kragten didn't just play a character; he helped define an era of educational television that didn't feel like "school." He brought a certain gravity to Odd Squad that balanced out the absurdity, making it a show that parents could actually sit through without wanting to pull their hair out. Whether he's ducking villains or winning Emmys, he's definitely one to keep an eye on.