Barney the Dinosaur Documentary in the Works for NBC's Peacock

By Nicole Drum

Barney the Dinosaur, the iconic purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex that was not only beloved by millions of children thanks to the Barney & Friends television series but later became the target of controversy and hate across popular culture, is getting a three-part documentary series for Peacock. Announced on Monday, the documentary is produced by Scout Productions with Tommy Avallone as director and executive producer. The documentary is expected to premiere on Peacock in 2022.

"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," Rod Aissa, EVP, Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming said in a statement. "This documentary is bound to captivate audiences like Barneyhas over the years."

According to a press release, the documentary will examine "the rock star-like trajectory of Barney the Dinosaur, the beloved character 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."

Created by Sheryl Leach, Barney first debuted in 1988  as part of the Barney and the Backyard Gang home video series before debuting on PBS in Barney & Friends on April 6, 1992. The series aired until 2010 with numerous concert specials, movies, toys, and other tie-ins along the way. While the character was wildly popular, Barney - as well as the television show he's featured on - was not without criticism. The show was criticized for lacking educational value and being repetitive. The upcoming documentary will take on some of those criticisms and will feature exclusive interviews and archival footage with first-hand accounts of the Barney phenomenon from the cast and crew as well as outspoken critics.

Interestingly, this isn't the only Barney-related project in the works. In 2019, a live-action Barney movie was announced. At the time Mattel announced that it had partnered with Daniel Kaluuya's 59% production banner to bring the project to life, though there have been few updates since.

The three-part Barney documentary series is expected to debut in 2022 on Peacock.

Were you a fan of Barney? Are you looking forward to a documentary about the beloved big purple dinosaur?  Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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