Hop, a new animated series from Arthur creator Marc Brown, has been green lit by Max, the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service.
Arthur ran for 25 years before ending last year. Peter K. HIrsch and Tolon Brown, who also worked on Arthur, are co-creating the new series with Brown.
“Even before Arthur ended, I was nurturing a new project about a little frog named Hop, for a younger audience,” said Brown.
“As Hop’s world grew in my imagination, I drew inspiration from the great work my friend Fred Rogers had done. With Arthur, we occasionally introduced characters with disabilities, but they never became part of the ensemble cast in any meaningful way. But the characters in Hop reflect many kids who are underrepresented in the medium, Brown said. “Some of our characters have disabilities but they never define who they are or what they can achieve. Kids are kids and each one is unique and filled with potential. And kids love to have fun, that’s what Hop is all about!”
Set in a fantasy world with dragons, trolls, talking banjos and magic crayons, the series aims to teach preschoolers to embrace their uniqueness. Hop, the title character is a frog with one leg shorter than another.
The producers are consulting with RespectAbility, a non profit advocating for opportunity for people with disabilities.
“Marc is a legend in children’s programming, having created one of the most iconic television shows that has garnered almost every honor imaginable,” said Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. “Hop exudes everything families love about Arthur, but with a fresh cast of modern characters that authentically represent the sundry of little eyes watching TV.”
David Connolly stars as Hop. Moneesha “Misha” Bakshi, Makeda Bromfield, Charlotte Walker and Jake Shannon provide the voices of other characters in the series.
Hop is being produced by Epic Story Media and animated by Loomi Animation
