The Jim Henson Company is searching for The Ultimate GOAT
Co-creator and host Dr. Rod Berger and The Jim Henson Company are looking for The Ultimate GOAT.
EXCLUSIVE: Journalist Rod Berger and an adventurous goat puppet are joining forces in this unscripted series that taps into kids’ love of sports.
By Ryan Tuchow September 6, 2024
The Jim Henson Company has teamed up with journalist and public speaker Rod Berger (pictured above) to develop a new unscripted series called The Ultimate GOAT, which aims to spotlight stellar athletes from around the world.
This is the studio’s first sports-focused project, and the content genre is really heating up right now with kids and buyers globally, says president of television Halle Stanford. “Why haven’t we done this before?” she jokes. “We know there are a few things that bring families together: nostalgia, music, comedy and sports.”
In the show’s 22-minute episodes (volume TBD), Berger and an adventurous goat puppet named Earv travel around the world in search of the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in various sports disciplines. They’ll explore different countries and cultures, interviewing a wide variety of athletes who may be professional league players in traditional sports like soccer or football, or experts in more unusual activities such as extreme ironing.
Earv will drive laughs with his potential for physical comedy (he can be rolled down a bowling alley, for example, or punted between football goalposts). But Stanford also expects the show to have a lot of heart as athletes open up to Earv about their struggles and secrets for success. She adds that Henson wants The Ultimate GOAT to inspire kids to find the GOAT inside themselves.
Victor Yerrid, courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Concept art of Earv, courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Berger created this series concept with Henson puppeteer and actor Victor Yerrid, who is performing Earv, as well as writing scripts and executive producing along with Lisa Henson and Stanford.
Stanford was initially drawn to the project because of Berger’s experience with interviewing luminaries such as Pope Francis and Magic Johnson. But what really makes this a Henson-worthy series is the potential for the studio to blend its experience making memorable puppets with a concept that can travel globally.
“We all want kids up and moving after the pandemic, and sports also fosters community,” says Stanford. “Whether you’re on the team or in the stands, you feel part of something in a really good way.”
For more on this series and the burgeoning sports content trend in general, check out the Q3 2024 issue of Kidscreen magazine, available digitally next Wednesday and in print. Copies will be going to Cartoon Forum, Brand Licensing Europe and MIP Junior.