Jim Henson Company Developing 'Paul The Bear' Kids TV Show

The Jim Henson Company, the puppet-based production house behind Fraggle Rock and Farscape, is partnering with Summer Camp Island creator Julia Pott and former Disney Star Raviv Ullman on Paul The Bear, a new kids series.

The live-action series about a recently retired brown bear getting in touch with himself and his community is being introduced to buyers at MIPCOM. Paul The Bear is created and showrun by Pott, a British animator and illustrator based in Los Angeles, and Ullman, best known for playing Phil Diffy, the main character in Disney’s Phil of the Future series.

The series is also produced by The Jim Henson Company, with Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford serving as executive producers along with Pott and Ullman. Paul The Bear, set in an English seaside town, will include a cast of real people and puppet animals and feature a nonverbal lead.

The logline for the series from the producers reads: “Paul T. Bear is newly retired, having spent most of his life out at sea working as a long-haul fisherman, sharing his space with bears at all hours of the day and night. He’s excited to finally be on his own — painting still lives of his favorite household items, attending plays, and volunteering at the library. But not all things come easy in new places and Paul will have to expend some effort to find a well-balanced life.”

Pott created and executive produced six seasons of Summer Camp Island for Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Ullman as a director and actor has TV credits with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, HBO, MTV, Disney and Comedy Central, and is currently developing his feature film debut as a writer and director with Jersey Films 2nd Avenue.

Pott is represented by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Ullman is represented by CESD Talent Agency and Vision Entertainment.