Apple TV+ today announced a fun-filled autumn slate of all-new kids and family programming, featuring both CG and stop-motion animation offerings, including brand new series CURSES!, Season 2 of Interrupting Chicken and a new Shape Island Halloween special.
Premiering just in time for Halloween on Friday, October 27, CURSES! is a brand-new, CG-animated, spooky adventure-comedy series for kids from DreamWorks Animation.
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 artifacts stolen by their ancestors to their rightful homes to finally lift the curse for good.
The voice cast features Emmy nominee Gabrielle Nevaeh (Monster High) as Pandora, Andre Robinson (The Loud House) as Russ, Emmy 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 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.
The series is created and executive produced by Jim Cooper (DreamWorks Dragons) and Jeff Dixon (The Hurricane Heist). Writer/director John Krasinski (A Quiet Place Parts I & II) also serves as executive producer and Allyson Seeger (A Quiet Place Parts I & 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 also directs. Animation services provided by CGCG and House of Cool.
Returning for a second season on Friday, September 29, the animated preschool series, Interrupting Chicken — based on 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 story time!
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 2, 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. Produced in partnership with Mercury Filmworks, the series stars three-time Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction) as Papa and Juliet Donenfeld “Pete the Cat, Gabby’s Dollhouse) as Piper. This season welcomes 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 October 20 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 series 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 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 Barnett and 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.
