Lyrick Studios, Inc. was an American entertainment/distribution company and subsidiary of HIT Entertainment, itself now owned by Mattel. The company was known for producing and distributing TV shows and children's products, mainly for their flagship property Barney & Friends. The company's mascot is Barney.
History[]
The company traces its origins to 1988, when The Lyons Group was formed as a division of DLM, Inc. (Developmental Learning Materials), an educational company owned by Richard C. Leach. Lyons began producing and distributing a direct-to-video series titled Barney and the Backyard Gang, which was created by Sheryl Leach, the daughter-in-law of Richard. Three years after the home video series debuted, Barney caught the attention of PBS executives, and the concept was subsequently revamped for television. Barney & Friends began airing on the Public Broadcasting Service on April 6, 1992.
Lyrick Studios was formed in 1994, and the Lyons Group became a division of the new company under the name Lyons Partnership. The company developed the Wishbone series for PBS in 1995. This series was produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, another Lyrick division, and was primarily filmed on a studio backlot in Allen. In the late 1990s, Lyrick acquired the distribution rights for VeggieTales and The Wiggles and also distributed book publishing and video gaming rights for some Humongous Entertainment video game characters like Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by HIT Entertainment for $275 million and folded on August 31, 2001.
Shows distributed by Lyrick[]
- Barney & Friends (until 2001)
- Wishbone (until 2001)
- VeggieTales (1997-2001)
- The Wiggles (1999-2001)
- Bob the Builder (2001)
- Groove High (2001)
- Kipper (2001)