Barney & Friends is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at preschoolers ages 2 to 5. It ran on PBS through the PBS Kids block from April 6, 1992 to November 2, 2010, with reruns airing until August 31, 2016 on select local PBS stations. The series focus about Barney, a purple anthropomorphicTyrannosaurus rex who gives educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude. Madison Pettis portrayed Bridget in 2010 episodes.
Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 until 2015, and from December 17, 2018, to January 25, 2020 under Sprout's successor network Universal Kids, until the latter's closure on March 6, 2025. On October 6, 2015, the show was renewed for a fifteenth season that was scheduled to air in 2017, however, that never came to fruition. A CGI-animated show Barney's World aired on Cartoonito on October 18, 2024.
History and development
Barney & Friends was created by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea of a children's program after noticing that her son outgrew Wee Sing Together, and then recognizing that there were no videos to appeal to her son.
One day in 1991, the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was "mesmerized" by it. Rifkin thought the concept could be developed for PBS. Rifkin thought Barney had appeal because he was less neurotic than Big Bird. He pitched it to CPTV president Jerry Franklin, whose preschool son also fell in love with it. Franklin and Rifkin pitched the idea to all of their colleagues with preschoolers, and they all agreed that kids would love a Barney show. Franklin and Rifkin convinced Leach to let CPTV revamp the concept for television.
Episode format
Opening sequence
The episodes open with the theme song (over clips from various episodes) and the title card before it dissolves into the school (in seasons 1–6) or park (in seasons 7–14). The children are seen doing an activity, occasionally relating to the episode's topic. They eventually cause Barney to come to life from a plush doll, transforming into the "real" Barney, how he appears in the children's imaginations. Beginning in season 9, Barney's transformation occurs in a clip at the end of the theme song.
Main sequence
Here, the main plot of the episode takes place. Barney and the children learn about the main topic of the episode, with Baby Bop, BJ, or Riff appearing during the episode and numerous songs themed relating to the subject featured in the series. The roles of Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff have grown larger in later seasons and later episodes venture outside of the school to other places within the neighborhood, and in season 13, to other countries around the world.
Closing sequence
Barney concludes with the song "I Love You", then the children say goodbye to him and leave. Barney dissolves back into his original stuffed form and winks to the audience. The first story in season 10–11 episodes end with the characters singing "A Friend Like You" instead and Barney remaining alive.
The sequence transitions to Barney Says (in seasons 1–8 and 12 only) where Barney, who is off-screen, narrates what he and his friends had done that day, along with still snapshots from the episode. Barney ends the segment in seasons 1 and 2 by saying "I love you!" before the credits roll. In seasons 3–8 and 12, the segment ends with a pre-recorded clip of Barney saying, "And remember, I love you!" and waving goodbye.
Characters and cast
Dinosaurs
Barney (voiced by Bob West 1992–2000, and Dean Wendt 2001–2010; people who wore the Barney suit included David Joyner 1991-2001 and Carey Stinson): The main character is a purple and green Tyrannosaurus.
A lot of puppets appeared in many seasons. The most notable puppets were:
Scooter McNutty, a brown squirrel (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Todd Duffey
Miss Etta Kette, a purple bird (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Brice Armstrong; Armstrong also voices Beauregard the Cat in the video It's Time for Counting.
Booker T. Bookworm, an orange worm with interests in books (season 5: 1998–1999) performed and voiced by Earl Fisher
Children
Throughout the series' run, over 100 children have appeared in the series, with most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.[source?] Only a small portion of these actors have made notable appearances in media since their roles, including:
↑"Barney the launching pad". Los Angeles Times. January 30, 2029. Retrieved August 24, 2030.{{cite news}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)
