Henson mines classic IP for TV

The Jim Henson Company (TJHC) is developing TV series based on two classic book properties in partnership with Rehab Entertainment and 2 Friends Entertainment.

Halle Stanford

TJHC is working on TV versions of Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy, originally published by Harper & Row in 1964, and Audrey Penn’s picture book series The Kissing Hand, after optioning rights to both books.

Harriet the Spy is being developed as a 2D animated series that will follow the titular character as she observes and writes about the bustling world of New York in the 1960s.

UK-based Karrot Entertainment (The Snowy Day, Sarah & Duck) is attached to animate the series. The book has been adapted into numerous live-action TV shows and movies in the past, most recently by Disney Channel in 2010.

The Kissing Hand, meanwhile, will feature puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. It follows a raccoon as he learns how to navigate going to school, making new friends and dealing with the daily anxieties of being a preschooler.

“Both of these classic book properties share TJHC’s commitment to entertain and inspire children, featuring dynamic characters and stories that celebrate creativity, empowerment and joy,” said Halle Stanford, president of television for TJHC.

The two properties are being overseen by Rehab Entertainment’s John Hyde and Terissa Kelton, 2 Friends Entertainment’s Wendy Moss-Klein and Nancy Steingard, and TJHC’s Lisa Henson and Stanford.