HALLE STANFORD, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND PRESIDENT OF TELEVISION AT THE JIM HENSON COMPANY, WRITES NEXT CHAPTER IN HER CAREER WITH ROBUST FIRST LOOK PRODUCING DEAL

Award-Winning TV Showrunner Will Write and
Executive Produce New Series, Including Jim Henson's Wowsabout!,the
Company's Next Big Puppet Preschool Franchise

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Halle Stanford, the Emmy Award^®-winning longtime President of Television for The Jim Henson Company, is relaunching her company, 7 Crow Stories, as she embarks on an exciting new chapter in her career as an independent producer and writer. As part of this new venture, Stanford has signed a first-look producer deal with The Jim Henson Company, where she has worked as a producer and executive for the past 30 years.

Under her 7 Crow Stories banner, Stanford will develop a variety of live-action and animated projects for The Jim Henson Company for preschool, family, and primetime audiences, continuing to prioritize entertaining, impactful, and imaginative content across a wide range of genres. Some of these highly anticipated projects that have been previously announced include the primetime fantasy series Goblins with Norman Reedus, the primetime animated series Lore Olympus, based on Webtoon's highly popular digital comic series, and the older kids' animated series Adrenaline Lemmings. Stanford is also attached to develop a future production of the beloved and award-winning Fraggle Rock.

As an additional element of her new deal, Stanford will serve as creator, showrunner, and writer for multiple Jim Henson Company projects that she has personally created and written. Chief among these projects is the live-action puppet preschool series Jim Henson's Wowsabout!, which is slated to begin shooting in the summer of 2025.

Jim Henson's Wowsabout! is a live-action puppet comedy for preschoolers, co-created by Halle Stanford and Dorien Davies (Word Party, Julie's Greenroom). The series follows Roxy, a guitar-playing hedgehog, and Ronald, a tree-loving pig, as they embark on an adventure to discover the "Wows of the World." Exploring awe, they'll visit the California Redwoods, have a sleepover with the Declaration of Independence, tour art museums, and experience many more wonders! Davies and John Tartaglia (Fraggle Rock) will be Co-Executive Producers and perform as the puppeteers for Roxy and Ronald. The show has partnered with Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, to integrate their world-renowned awe-based curriculum.

Stanford said, "I've had the incredible privilege to stand next to the Dark Crystal, party down in Fraggle Rock, and now, I'm beyond excited to produce my dream show, Jim Henson's Wowsabout!, take flight with my company, 7 Crow Stories, and dedicate myself to creating series that inspire awe, action, and imagination. I'm deeply grateful for this new chapter with The Jim Henson Company as we continue to innovate family programming and collaborate with the very best dreamers in the world."

"Over her decades of work with The Jim Henson Company, Halle has brought to bear the positive influence that television can have on generations of children and has also dedicated herself to developing her own powerful, inspiring, and joyous creative voice," said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "Through her collaborative producing, thoughtful writing, and dynamic leadership, she has built a strong scaffolding for herself as a showrunner for a raft of productions that reflect her deep understanding and mastery of children's television."

"Having Halle Stanford apply her talent and experience now as a producer and showrunner broadens our capabilities and strengthens our slate overall, as she will provide concentrated firepower and focus to some of our highest-priority projects," said Chris Lytton, COO and President of The Jim Henson Company.

Stanford will continue working closely with Lisa Henson, who will oversee the Creative Affairs team, including Tara Billik (Vice President of Feature Films), Delaney Shiokari (Director of Primetime Development), Tim O'Brien (Production Executive), John Tartaglia (Creative Supervisor for Fraggle Rock), as well as a yet-to-be-hired Vice President of Kids' Development. Brian Henson and Vince Raisa from Brian Henson Productions will also continue to develop a strong film and TV slate for The Jim Henson Company.

Halle Stanford recently executive produced Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, which earned 10 Emmy^® nominations for its second season, alongside nominations for a PGA Award, WGA Award, Environmental Media Award, and a GLAAD Media Award. Her other executive producer credits include The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Emmy^®-winning), Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, Slumberkins, Harriet the Spy (Apple TV+), and PBS KIDS^® series like Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, and Splash and Bubbles. She was also Executive Producer on Julie's Greenroom (Netflix), Pajanimals (Sprout), and Word Party (Netflix).

Halle Stanford joined The Jim Henson Company in 1993, working on projects like Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets Tonight, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Farscape. In 2000, she founded 7 Crow Stories, focusing on children's content and rebranding franchises. She returned to Henson in 2003, creating over 500 hours of programming seen in 150+ countries and earning 100+ awards. Stanford is an Emmy^® winner and 12-time nominee and has received the Cynopsis Top Women in Media Award, Corporate Visionary Award, and Cynopsis Kids !magination Award. She is represented by The Gotham Group.

About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for 70 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company's most recent credits include the Oscar^®-winning Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio for Netflix, the Emmy^®-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV+, the feature film The Portable Door for MGM+, and the upcoming Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, starring Eva Longoria and Cheech Marin for Disney+. Other television credits include Slumberkins and Harriet the Spy for Apple TV+; Dinosaur Train, Splash and Bubbles, and Sid the Science Kid all for PBS; Earth to Ned for Disney+; and Word Party and the Emmy-winning series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, both for Netflix. Iconic catalogue titles include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, the sci-fi series Farscape, and the ground-breaking fantasy classics The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

Headquartered in Los Angeles with additional locations in New York and London, the Company is also home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent puppet and creature-building group and industry leader in puppeteered digital animation, with international film, television, theme park, and advertising clients.

SOURCE The Jim Henson Company