While Barney and Friends might have been “a happy family” on screen, apparently things weren’t quite so cheery for the purple dinosaur behind the scenes. Now, nearly 30 years since Barney made his debut on PBS, the NBC-owned streaming service Peacock has announced a Barney the Dinosaur documentary is currently in development for the streaming service. According to Peacock (via The Wrap), the series will examine “the rock star-like trajectory of Barney the Dinosaur” who “captured the hearts of millions of children and then became the target of hate and rage across pop culture, the early internet and playgrounds around the world.” The currently untitled three-part series is slated to hit the service sometime in 2022.
In the series, Peacock will shed light on “exclusive interviews and archival footage,” offering never-before-seen “first-hand accounts of the Barney phenomenon from the cast and crew to its most outspoken critics.” The project will also go over the PBS program’s 1992-2010 run — as well as the series’ spinoff various films — and the reception they received from the general public.
The Barney the Dinosaur documentary comes from Scout Productions, the executive producers of Queer Eye and The Hype, and will be directed and executive produced by Tommy Avallone of The Bill Murray Stories. In addition, Wendy Greene, Trent Johnson, Raymond Esposito, and Scout’s Rob Eric, David Collins, Michael Williams, Amy Goodman Kass, and Joel Chiodi are also all on board to produce. Rod Aissa, the executive vice president of unscripted content at NBCUniversal, said the television network is “thrilled” to be working on the series that is “bound to captivate audiences.”
“Barney the Dinosaur was a ubiquitous character for children and parents alike and we are thrilled to work with the Scout Productions team to bring this three-part series to Peacock. This documentary is bound to captivate audiences like Barney has over the years.”