Let the music play (clap, clap) – again.
It’s been 35 years since Jim Henson’s “Fraggle Rock” last aired in 1987.
Henson’s fun-loving, musical Fraggles are back.
Join Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and new Fraggle friends on hilarious, epic adventures about the magic that happens when we celebrate and care for our interconnected world in the series, “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.”
The series had an influence on Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson, who bring the reboot back to the screen for Apple TV+, where it’s now streaming.
Cuthbertson says the original show – which ran from 1983-87 – had a sleeve goal of creating world peace and ending war, and doing it in a fun and vibrant way.
“Our desire to do the show is rooted in that,” Cuthbertson says. “Those were the themes that drove the original. We’re all living in this world together and wanted to bring back those themes.”
Cuthbertson says being able to collaborate with the producers to make something positive was the icing on the cake for the series.
“We wanted it to be funny and fun to watch,” he says. “We wanted to put something really good out in the world. It can deliver something important. We are all in this together and we wanted to bring joy.”
Fusfeld and Cuthbertson began their working relationship while working on the animated series, “American Dad.”
With “Fraggle Rock,” it was very different.
“With animation, we could think of anything and it would get drawn,” Fusfeld says. “This time we were working with puppets and they can’t do a lot. It became a good challenge. It make us figure out clever ways to execute something. It removed our crutches and it had to focus on the story and comedy. The sets were built and we worked with them.”
Cuthbertson says everything that is done with puppetry, seems like a magic trick.
“We often thought, ‘How did they do that?’ ” he says.
Taking a beloved series and rebooting it, the duo had some nerves.
“It was almost immediate realizations of how Matt and I, as showrunners, were leading,” Cuthbertson says. “We had people involved who came from the original. One of the original writers was back with us. It never felt like we were in danger of going to a bad place. We talked about everything. When we were shooting the show, the entire crew was all in.”
Cuthbertson and Fusfeld both feel like they would hang out with Mokey Fraggle because they are drawn to her.
“I would end up hanging out with Boober,” Fusfeld adds.
As the series premieres its 13-episode season, Cuthbertson says he wanted to put out a quality show.
“Matt and I truly love what we’ve done,” he says. “It’s joyous. And if it’s something that we can evoke from audiences and give them a little joy. We’re trying to build awareness in the world that we should all listen to each other. It’s been an incredible ride.”
