Hollywood, CA (September 21, 2022) – The Jim Henson Company, an established leader in innovation and family entertainment, is developing All-of-a-Kind Family, a live action one-hour drama series for prime time about a hardworking Jewish family in Manhattan’s bustling Lower East Side in 1911, navigating both the awesome wonders and the brutal trials of being first generation immigrants. Seasoned television writer Jordana Lewis Jaffe is attached to develop the project and as showrunner, to bring to life the beloved stories from the acclaimed collection of books by author Sydney Taylor.
Published in 1951, All-of-a-Kind Family was the first book where Jewish American children could see themselves and their experiences reflected in an authentic way. Taylor (1904-1978), who drew on her own family’s experiences, would go on to write four additional books in the series, which has notably never been out of print and has sold millions of copies globally. Taylor received the Charles W. Follett Award, the William Allen White Award, and was honored by The American Library Association with the creation of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award.
“My grandfather and his family immigrated from Hungary to New York City 1922, during the same era as the All-of-a-Kind Family books. As a young Jewish girl growing up in America, I saw myself and my sister in these rich, detailed stories, and our Jewish heritage celebrated,” said Halle Stanford, President of Television for The Jim Henson Company. “I believe every family that watches this exciting and dramatic series will feel an authentic connection to their own lineage as well as to the struggles and joys of every immigrant or refugee family today. It will be the type of Henson family series we believe audiences are craving: epic, sentimental, topical, hopeful, funny and joyful.“
“I cherished the All-of-a-Kind Family books as a kid, introduced them to my own children as a way of connecting to their ancestors, and am thrilled to bring this story – and its history, culture, and characters – to the screen,” said Jordana Lewis Jaffe.
All-of-a-Kind Family is a
Jim Henson Company production. The series will be executive produced by The Jim
Henson Company’s Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, as well as Jordana Lewis
Jaffe and Gregory Phelan. Rachel
Manija Brown will co-produce.
ABOUT THE JIM HENSON COMPANY
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established
leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized as an
innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company is
currently in production on Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix and the feature film The Portable Door. Henson’s most recent television credits include Fraggle Rock: Back to the
Rock, Harriet the Spy and Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, all for Apple TV+, Word Party Presents: Math! for Netflix, Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time for discovery+, Earth
to Ned for Disney+, and the Emmy®-winning Netflix
Original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Other TV
productions include Word Party (Netflix), Dinosaur Train (PBS), Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Sid the Science Kid (PBS), and Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), as
well as Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, and the sci-fi series Farscape. Feature film credits include The Star
(Sony Pictures Animation), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day (Disney), and the groundbreaking fantasy classics The Dark
Crystal, and Labyrinth.
With additional locations in New York and London, The
Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie
Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post-production facilities. The
Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with
international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as
Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of
state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative credits include The Curious Creations of
Christine McConnell (Netflix), the feature film The Happytime Murders,
and the popular live puppet improvisational show Puppet-Up! – Uncensored.