![]() Faced with an atmosphere that Rifkin later described as "like an insurrection," PBS ultimately relented.įor several years, the show was taped at the Color Dynamics Studios facility at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, Texas, after which it moved to The Studios at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, and then Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas. By the time of the yearly member stations' meeting, station executives across the country were up in arms over the prospect of one of their most popular shows being canceled. ![]() The Lyons Group, meanwhile, sent out notices through the Barney Fan Club, telling parents to write letters and make phone calls to their local PBS stations to show their support for Barney & Friends. When CPTV executives learned this, they wrote letters to their fellow PBS member stations urging them to get PBS to reconsider. Franklin and Rifkin convinced Leach to let CPTV revamp the concept for television. The show debuted as Barney & Friends in 1992. The series was produced by CPTV and Lyrick Studios (bought by HIT Entertainment).Īlthough the show was a runaway hit, PBS initially opted not to provide funding beyond the initial 30-episode run. Franklin and Rifkin pitched the idea to all of their colleagues with preschoolers, and they all agreed that kids would love a potential Barney show. He pitched it to CPTV president Jerry Franklin, whose preschool son also fell in love with it. Rifkin thought Barney had appeal because he wasn't nearly as neurotic as Big Bird. Rifkin thought the concept could potentially be developed for PBS. One day in 1991, the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was mesmerized by it. Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos, Barney and the Backyard Gang, which also starred actress Sandy Duncan in the first three videos. Later, Barney was joined by the characters Baby Bop, B.J., and Riff. Barney was created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea for the program while considering TV shows that she felt would be educational and appeal to her son.
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