Get ready to “dance your cares away” and save your “worries for another day”, as Apple TV+ announces a January premiere date, and releases a trailer for the return of the Fraggles in brand new series ‘Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock‘.
The new ‘Fraggle Rock’ series is reimagined as a global Apple Original series for new generations of fans to enjoy together on Apple TV+. Produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with New Regency, the series reunites the original stars – Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley and Uncle Travelling Matt – for new songs and adventures, with the same spirit as the classic.
The cast includes John Tartaglia (Gobo), Dave Goelz (Boober and Uncle Travelling Matt), Karen Prell (Red), Donna Kimball (Mokey), and Jordan Lockhart (Wembley).
If you’re a little confused as to why this is on Apple TV+ and not Disney+, its to do with the licensing. Disney only owns the rights to ‘The Muppets’, and ‘Bear in the Big Blue House’. The Jim Henson Company, which is an entirely independent entity, still retains the rights to The Fraggles themselves, meaning they can sell shows featuring those characters to whomever they wish, in this case, Apple.
The new long-form series comes following the overwhelming global fandom support around the Apple TV+ shorts ‘Fraggle Rock: Rock On!‘. That series launched in April 2020, in the early depths of the pandemic, and featured the Fraggles all connecting via devices created by the industrious Doozers – Doozertubes – to sing together, whilst staying socially distant.
Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford executive produce the new ‘Fraggle Rock’ series for The Jim Henson Company. Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer of New Regency and long-time Henson collaborator John Tartaglia (‘Splash and Bubbles,’ ‘Johnny and the Sprites’) also exec produce. Showrunners Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson (‘New Girl,’ ‘American Dad,’ ‘Community’) executive produce and write. Rita Peruggi (‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,’ ‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’) produces. Harvey Mason Jr. is the executive music producer for the series.
‘Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock‘ Season 1 premieres 21st January 2022 on Apple TV+ in the UK and worldwide.
