Emmy award-winning Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh is set to executive-produce and voice-direct all-new episodes of Phineas and Ferb at Disney Branded Television. He would be joining his longtime creative partner Dan Povenmire for the hit classic returning with 40 new episodes.
Marsh also has a previously announced series for preschoolers, Hey A.J. from his Surfing Giant Studios in association with Disney Junior, in production now. The adventure/comedy series is based on books by Super Bowl champion Martellus Bennett, who is also among the voice cast. It is executive produced by Marsh, Bennett and Michael Hodges.
“Swampy is one of the brightest creators in animation and among his many passions is connecting and collaborating with creative people, whether it’s through writing, animation design, directing, music or acting,” said Disney Branded Television animation EVP Meredith Roberts.”He continually elevates their artistry, as well as his own, to tell the bigger and more entertaining stories for global audiences. We’re thrilled to be continuing our partnership and look forward to a long and exciting road ahead.”
“Swampy is a multihyphenate talent bringing excellence to Hey A.J., a playful, music-filled series that represents what is most dear to him — family — and a relatable, positive portrayal of a child and her parents, a stay-at-home father and small business owner mother. With every step, we’re even more elated with the collaboration of Swampy’s creative team and look forward to delivering a show that will entertain our young viewers and their parents too,” said Disney Junior development, series and strategy Alyssa Sapire.
Marsh and his longtime producing partner Dan Povenmire created and executive-produced Emmy Award-winning series Phineas and Ferb. It was the most successful animated series for kids aged six to 11 and tweens nine to 14 in Disney Television Animation history, spanning 126 episodes, five one-hour specials including a musical and two hit movies about resourceful step-brothers who conquer boredom and make every day of their summer vacation count.
A musician, animator, writer, producer, director and voice actor (including the voice of the Major Francis Monogram in Phineas and Ferb), Marsh helped ensure his appreciation of both music and zany comedy was a significant part of Phineas and Ferb. He and Povenmire wrote more than 450 original songs encompassing pop, rock, swing and jazz for the franchise, music which was twice nominated for Emmy Awards. He voice-directed many performances by the Phineas and Ferb main cast: Vincent Martella, Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso, Dee Bradley Baker, Alyson Stoner, Caroline Rhea, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Errigo Jr. and Richard O’Brien, and delivered a remarkable array of guest-starring musicians and actors, including the Grammy-nominated artists Bowling for Soup (who recorded the iconic theme song), Chaka Khan and Slash.
He lived and worked in London on several animated programs, including Postman Pat and Bounty Hamster, and worked in his native Los Angeles for Hanna Barbera, Klasky Csupo and on more than six seasons of the critically acclaimed series The Simpsons, including three Emmy Award-winning episodes. Marsh was also a writer and director on Rocko’s Modern Life and worked as a storyboard artist and designer on the Emmy Award-winning series King of the Hill.
He and Povenmire also created and executive-produced Disney Channel’s animated series Milo Murphy’s Law, which was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Their Phineas and Ferb series premiered officially in January 2008 and became television’s number one animated TV series of 2009 among tweens nine to 14, building to number one among both kids six to 11 and tweens nine to 14 for 2011. The first of two television movies it inspired, Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension, ranked in TV’s top two movies for 2011. More recently, Marsh developed Pete the Cat, an animated series for Amazon Prime based on the children’s book series.
Marsh is represented by Kelly Calder and Donna Felten at Natural Talent, Inc.