Philadelphia, PA, September 26, 2011 - 24-hour preschool
television channel Sprout will premiere the Pajanimals, a new,
full-length series co-produced by Sprout, the Jim Henson Company,
and Northern Ireland's Sixteen South Television, on Monday, October
10 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Airing exclusively on Sprout in the U.S.,
Pajanimals was designed to help parents and caregivers with a
bedtime routine for their preschoolers. Through their
imaginary journeys, the Pajanimals model the skills preschoolers
need to move through their days and nights successfully.
Along the way, the Pajanimals discover how cozy and safe nighttime
can really be when accompanied by friendship and songs.
Pajanimals characters - Sweetpea Sue the pony, the excitable
duck Squacky, the creative cow CowBella and the optimistic puppy
Apollo - were designed and built by the world famous Oscar® and
Emmy® Award-winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop™ from original
concepts by Los Angeles-based toy and clothing designer, artist
Jeff Muncy (Pet Alien). This inseparable quartet forms a
nighttime community in the comfort of their magical, shared
bedroom.
"Parents have told us that bedtime is one of the most
challenging times of the day," said Andrew Beecham, senior vice
president of programming at Sprout. "Much like the short-form
version of Pajanimals we debuted in 2008, this new full-length
series provides more of these loveable characters modeling the
typical day-to-bedtime transitions that preschoolers encounter
every day. From separation anxiety to nightmares, the
Pajanimals will tackle these challenges together every night with
our viewers."
"Puppets are a great way to connect with young children and
encourage them to explore their fears and curiosity," said Lisa
Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "With Pajanimals, we've
created a safe world with four of the sweetest puppets to come from
our Creature Shop. These cuddly friends will welcome viewers
to snuggle up for a story and a song."
Produced in Ireland as a co-production between The Jim Henson
Company, Sprout and Northern Ireland's Sixteen South Television,
production on the Pajanimals series has obtained funding assistance
from Northern Ireland Screen. The Jim Henson Company's CEO
Lisa Henson and Executive Vice President of Children's
Entertainment Halle Stanford serve as Executive Producers for the
series, along with long-time Henson producer, Alex Rockwell (Bear
in the Big Blue House, Elmo in Grouchland) and Jeff Muncy. Serving
as Executive Producer for Sprout is Senior Vice President of
Programming Andrew Beecham, while Lisa O'Brien, Sprout's Vice
President of Original Programming and Development, serves as
Executive in Charge of Production. Sixteen South's Colin Williams
(Big and Small, Sesame Tree) serves as producer for the series,
with Michael and Patty Silversher (Winnie the Pooh, Animal Jam,
Dinosaur Train) composing the music. Pajanimals was created
by Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell. The series airs in the U.S.
on 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout. The Jim
Henson Company is handling all ancillary use of the property
including licensing, video and merchandising.
For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, or
to play games, download free coloring pages or find great
activities for kids, visit SproutOnline.com. To find out
where Sprout is available in your area, call 1.8.SPROUT.411 or go
to SproutPlease.com.
About Sprout®
Available in over 50 million homes, Sprout is the first 24-hour
preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for
children ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers. The
24-hour digital channel, which launched in September 2005 along
with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the only channel that
follows the day of a preschooler from breakfast to bedtime with its
distinctive, interactive programming and original hosted
blocks. Sprout's VOD offering is the #1 on demand service for
younger children with over one billion views.
Sprout is a partnership among NBCUniversal, HIT Entertainment,
PBS and Sesame Workshop. Its program lineup of gold-standard,
curriculum-based preschool shows includes: Sesame Street®,
Bob the Builder™, Barney & Friends™, The Wiggles®, Thomas &
Friends™, Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears™, Roary the Racing
Car™, dirtgirlworld and more.
www.SproutOnline.com
www.facebook.com/Sprout
www.twitter.com/SproutTV
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in
family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide
as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation.
Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has
received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits
include the Emmy® nominated "Sid the Science Kid," "Dinosaur
Train," "Wilson & Ditch: Digging America" and "Pajanimals."
Features include "The Dark Crystal," "Labyrinth," "MirrorMask," and
"Unstable Fables" and television productions include "Fraggle Rock"
and the sci-fi cult series "Farscape."
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson
Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie
Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction
facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult
children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim
Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and
visual effects group with international film, television and
advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of
the music industry's top recording facilities known for its
world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The
Company's Henson Alternative brand has recently launched the
national tour of "Stuffed and Unstrung," a live puppet
improvisational show named one of the top 10 "Best Stage Shows of
2010" by Entertainment Weekly.
www.henson.com
www.facebook.com/hensoncompany
www.twitter.com/hensonparents
About Sixteen South Television
Based in Northern Ireland, Sixteen South Television loves making
high quality, compelling children's programming for UK and
international broadcasters and works in live action, puppetry and
animation. Recent productions include the third series of the
award winning Big and Small, in partnership with Kindle
Entertainment. Sixteen South also created Sesame Tree, a
co-production with Sesame Workshop in New York, and BigCityPark, a
co-production with BBC Scotland, all of which were commissioned by
CBeebies for UK broadcast. Sixteen South continues to develop
fresh properties for international markets.
www.sixteensouth.tv
www.facebook.com/sixteensouth
www.twitter.com/sixteensouth
###
Press Contact:
Jenni Glenn
Sprout
215-286-2703
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com