With the new Muppet Babies rolling strong on Disney channel and Netflix's Dark Crystal series looking extremely promising, it's a great time to be a Jim Henson fan. It's going to continue to be too, as a recent announcement has revealed The Storyteller is coming back with a reboot, and has a very famous name running things. Science fiction legend Neil Gaiman will be in charge of the new series, and put his personal flair on an acclaimed classic.
Gaiman and Lisa Henson (who will executive produce alongside Gaiman) were somewhat cryptic on what the rebooted version of The Storyteller will entail, but the acclaimed author did tell Deadline he'd like to further explore the mythos of the Storyteller as a character. In addition to honoring The Storyteller's original format of telling a different anthology tale, Neil Gaiman hopes to expand the story by exploring the origins of The Storyteller himself.
The Storyteller will still focus on stories as well, and bring tales of obscure and popular folklore to a television audience. Neither Neil Gaiman nor Lisa Henson tipped their hand on what tales are being eyed for the reboot, but they might have some ideas given Gaiman's prior statements on where The Storyteller will start off. Both have a good eye for tales, as Jim Henson was inspired to create the series after observing Lisa's studies in folklore at university.
Neil Gaiman takes the reins of The Storyteller and will attempt to live up to the original series that was painstakingly created by men that have since passed. Besides Jim Henson, the world has lost the original Storyteller (played by John Hurt), and Anthony Minghella, who wrote the episodes. With that said, Lisa Henson confirmed she has faith Gaiman will do justice to the rebooted series, thanks in large part to his love for the series and folklore mythology in general.
The Storyteller reboot hails from The Jim Henson Company, but also Fremantle who works with Neil Gaiman on the Starz's American Gods. That, paired with the fact that the original Storyteller series is available to stream on Starz makes it feel like this is heading there, although an official home for the series has not been announced. The Storyteller franchise has continued in recent years via graphic novels, for those who can't wait for this one to hit television.
Everyone else can stick with CinemaBlend for updates on the upcoming reboot, or hop on over to Starz to watch the original series on demand. There's plenty of other things to enjoy on television at the moment as well, so be sure to keep up to date with the latest premieres and returns by visiting and bookmarking our midseason premiere guide.
