Apple TV+ will debut four new series in the fall and offer up new seasons of five returning shows, including Ghostwriter with an entirely new cast for its third installment, and Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show. The streamer will also add eight Peanuts specials to its library as part of its partnership with rights holder WildBrain.
The four new series are preschool animated show Sago Mini Friends, based on characters from the Sago Mini World app; Slumberkins, a mix of animation and puppetry from the Jim Henson Company; Interrupting Chicken, based on the award-winning children’s book by David Ezra Stein; and Circuit Breakers, a kid-friendly sci fi show.
The additions to Apple TV+’s slate for kids and families stand in contrast to some other streamers: HBO Max has pulled a number of kids’ shows off its service and cut back development in that area, and Netflix has also scrapped several animated series (for both kids and adults) and laid off some 70 people in its animation group.
In addition to Ghostwriter (Oct. 21) and Hello, Jack! (Oct. 7), Apple TV+ will also debut new seasons of Wolfboy and the Everything Factory and Get Rolling With Otis on Sept. 30. The Peanuts specials joining the platform (all on Sept. 9) are He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown; He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown; It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown; It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown; There’s No Time for Love, Charlie Brown; Why, Charlie Brown, Why?; You’re in Love, Charlie Brown; and You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown.
Details on the four new series:
Sago Mini Friends (Sept. 16) features Harvey the floppy-eared dog, Jinja the cat, Jack the rabbit and Robin the bird playing and exploring in the town of Sagoville. The preschool series comes from Spin Master Entertainment and Brown Bag Films, Toronto; Jennifer Dodge, Ronnen Harary, Tone Thyne, Dustin Ferrer, Laura Clunie and Toni Stevens executive produce, with Chad Hicks serving as series director.
Slumberkins (Nov. 4) is based on the emotional learning brand of the same name. The Jim Henson Company-produced series follows Bigfoot, Unicorn, Sloth, Yak, and Fox as they explore stories of friendship, confidence and connection to model healthy relationships. Alex Rockwell and Henson’s Halle Stanford executive porduce. Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard, creators of the Slumberkins brand, are co-EPs.
Circuit Breakers (Nov. 11) is a half-hour, futuristic anthology that takes on kid-relatable issues through a science fiction lens and where curiosity can lead to chaos. Melody Fox created the series. The executive producers are Matt Hastings, who also directed the pilot episode; Andrew Orenstein; Cottonwood Media’s Sarah Haasz, David Michel and Cécile Lauritano; Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen of Aircraft Pictures; and Todd Berger.
Interrupting Chicken (Nov. 18) is based on Stein’s Caldecott Honor-winning picture book series and features a young chicken named Piper with a habit of interrupting story time. This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown leads the voice cast of the series, produced by Mercury Filmworks. Sesame Street and Odd Squad alum Ron Holsey developed the show and executive produces with Stein, Loris Kramer Lunsford, Clint Eland and Chantal Ling.
