Apple TV+ announced a fun-filled autumn slate of new kids and family programming, featuring both CG and stop-motion animation offerings, including new series Curses! launching 27 October; season two of Interrupting Chicken, premiering 29 September and a new Shape Island Halloween special debuting 20 October.
Premiering just in time for Halloween on Curses! is a brand new animated, spooky adventure comedy series for kids from DreamWorks Animatio: When a generations-long family curse turns Alex Vanderhouven to stone, it’s up to his two kids, Pandora and Russ, and his wife Sky, to return artefacts stolen by their ancestors to their rightful homes to finally lift the curse for good.
The series is created and executive produced by Jim Cooper (DreamWorks Dragons) and Jeff Dixon (The Hurricane Heist). Writer and director John Krasinski (A Quiet Place Parts I & II) also serves as executive producer and Allyson Seeger (A Quiet Place Parts I and II) as co-executive producer. Leo Riley (Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron: Uprising) is supervising producer, with Chris Copeland (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) and Justin Copeland (Wonder Woman: Bloodlines) serving as creative consultants. Riley (Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron: Uprising) directs with animation services provided by CGCG and House of Cool.
The series features the voice talents of Emmy Award nominee Gabrielle Nevaeh (Monster High) as Pandora, Andre Robinson (The Loud House) as Russ, Emmy Award nominee Lyric Lewis (Waffles + Mochi) as Sky, SAG award winner Reid Scott (Veep) as Alex, Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death) as Stanley, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Larry, Emmy Award winner Rhea Perlman (Barbie) as “Margie,” Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun) as Georgia Snitker and Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Cornelius.
Returning for a second season on 29 September, the animated preschool series Interrupting Chicken, based upon the 2011 Caldecott Honor-winning book series written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein, will continue introducing children to the joy of creative writing, starting with a young little chicken named Piper who has a habit of interrupting storytime!
Every time Piper hears a story, she can’t help but jump in, ask questions and let her imagination run wild as she tries to fill in details, guess what happens next or insert herself in the middle of the action to help save the day. In addition to seeing the return of beloved characters like The Big Bad Wolf and Captain Claw for season two, watch Piper help Cinderella get to the ball, surf with a sea monster and build a Royal Rollercoaster with the King, among other adventures!
Interrupting Chicken was developed by Emmy Award-winner Ron Holsey who serves as executive producer alongside Stein, Loris Kramer Lunsford and Clint Eland. In partnership with Mercury Filmworks, the series stars the voice talents of three-time Emmy Award winner Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction) as Papa and Juliet Donenfeld (Pete the Cat, Gabby’s Dollhouse) as Piper. This season has guest stars including multi-Grammy Award winner Wyclef Jean, who also performs an original song, Paula Poundstone (Inside Out) and more.
Shape Island, the acclaimed stop motion series for kids and families based on the internationally bestselling trilogy of Shapes picture books written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen, is back on 20 October with an all-new Halloween special titled Creepy Cave Crawl.
In the standalone special, after Triangle pranks them, Circle and Square celebrate Halloween on their own with all treats and no tricks. The clever, funny and inspiring stop-motion animated series from Apple TV+ takes place on a charming island and invites viewers to join serious Square, intrepid Circle and tricky Triangle on their silly adventures as they dig up some fun, search for answers and build on their friendship — all while learning how to navigate each other’s differences. Shape Island shows kids that friendship can take many shapes.
The series features the familiar voices of Gideon Adlon (Blockers), Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), and Yvette Nicole Brown (Disenchanted). Shape Island was co-created by book authors Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, who serve as executive producers alongside Bix Pix Entertainment’s Emmy Award-winners Kelli Bixler and Drew Hodges. Ryan Pequin serves as co-executive producer and head writer.