Barney & Friends is an American television series aimed at preschool children created by Sheryl Leach. The flagship production of the Barney franchise, it originally aired on PBS through the PBS Kids block from April 6, 1992, to November 2, 2010, although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired. It features and stars Barney the Dinosaur, an anthropomorphic purple Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015, and from December 17, 2018, to January 25, 2020, on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids, until the latter's closure on March 6, 2025. On October 6, 2015, the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in 2017, but that never came to fruition. A CGI-animated series Barney's World aired on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito on October 18, 2024, and streamed on HBO Max on October 14, 2024.
While popular with its intended audience, Barney & Friends drew severe negative reaction from adults, who mocked the title character in popular culture through song parodies, comedy routines such as being beaten up by NBA star Charles Barkley on a Saturday Night Live episode, and even the United States Army using music from the children's show to psychologically torture and interrogate Iraqi prisoners of war.
History and development Barney & Friends was created by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea of a children's program after noticing that her son outgrew Wee Sing Together,Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: and then recognizing that there were no videos to appeal to her son. Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos, Barney & the Backyard Gang, initially released in 1988. The first three videos starred actress Sandy Duncan.
One day in 1991, the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was "mesmerized" by it. Rifkin thought the concept could be developed for PBS. Rifkin thought Barney had appeal because he was less neurotic than Big Bird. He pitched it to CPTV president Jerry Franklin, whose preschool son also fell in love with it. Franklin and Rifkin pitched the idea to all of their colleagues with preschoolers, and they all agreed that kids would love a Barney show. Franklin and Rifkin convinced Leach to let CPTV revamp the concept for television. The show debuted as Barney & Friends in 1992. The series was produced by CPTV and Lyrick Studios (later bought by HIT Entertainment).
Although the show was a runaway hit, PBS initially opted not to provide funding beyond the initial 30-episode run. When Rifkin and other CPTV executives learned this, they wrote letters to their fellow PBS member stations urging them to get PBS to reconsider. The Lyons Group, meanwhile, sent out notices through the Barney Fan Club, telling parents to write letters and make phone calls to their local PBS stations to show their support for Barney & Friends. By the time of the yearly member stations' meeting, station executives across the country were up in arms over the prospect of one of their most popular shows being canceled. Faced with an atmosphere that Rifkin later described as "like an insurrection", PBS ultimately relented.
For several years, the show was taped at the Color Dynamics Studios facility at Greenville Avenue & Bethany Drive in Allen, Texas, after which it moved to The studios at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, and then Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas. The series was produced by WNET from 2006 to 2010.
Episode format Opening sequence The episodes open with the theme song (over clips from various episodes) and the title card before it dissolves into the school (in seasons 1–6) or park (in seasons 7–14). The children are seen doing an activity, occasionally relating to the episode's topic. They eventually cause Barney to come to life from a plush doll, transforming into the "real" Barney, how he appears in the children's imaginations. Beginning in season 9, Barney's transformation occurs in a clip at the end of the theme song.
Main sequence Here, the main plot of the episode takes place. Barney and the children learn about the main topic of the episode, with Baby Bop, BJ, and/or Riff appearing during the episode and numerous songs themed relating to the subject featured in the series. The roles of Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff have grown larger in later seasons and later episodes venture outside of the school to other places within the neighborhood, and in season 13, to other countries around the world.
Closing sequence Barney concludes with the song "I Love You", then the children say goodbye to him and leave. Barney dissolves back into his original stuffed form and winks at the viewer(s). The first story in season 10–11 episodes end with the characters singing "A Friend Like You" instead and Barney remaining alive.
The sequence transitions to Barney Says (in seasons 1–8 and 12 only) where Barney, who is off-screen, narrates what he and his friends had done that day, along with still snapshots from the episode. Barney ends the segment in seasons 1 and 2 by saying "I love you!" before the credits roll. In seasons 3–8 and 12, the segment ends with a pre-recorded clip of Barney saying, "And remember, I love you!" and waving goodbye.
Characters and cast
Dinosaurs (voiced by Bob West 1992–2000, and Dean Wendt 2001–2010; people who wore the Barney suit included David Joyner 1991-2001 and Carey Stinson): The titular character is an anthropomorphic purple and green Tyrannosaurus in stuffed animal likeness, who comes to life through the children's imagination. His theme song is "Barney is a Dinosaur", whose tune is based on "Yankee Doodle". Barney often quotes things as being "Super dee-duper". Episodes frequently end with the song "I Love You", sung to the tune of "This Old Man". Despite being a carnivorous type dinosaur, Barney does not have a carnivore's fearsome teeth. He likes many different foods such as fruits and vegetables, but his main favorite is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk. (voiced by Julie Johnson): An anthropomorphic green and pink Triceratops, who was originally two years old, but turned three in the episode "Look at Me, I'm 3!". Baby Bop has been on the show since her debut in "Barney in Concert" on July 29, 1991. She wears a pink bow and pink ballet slippers and often carries a yellow security blanket. She sings the song "My Yellow Blankey" to show how much her security blanket means to her. She likes to eat macaroni and cheese and pizza. She is the younger sister of BJ. (voiced by Patty Wirtz): A seven-year-old anthropomorphic yellow and green Protoceratops, BJ has been on the show since September 27, 1993. He is the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "sissy" and occasionally calls by her name. He sings "BJ's Song" about himself. He wears a red baseball cap and red sneakers. He lost his hat in the episode "Hats Off to BJ!". Pickles are his favorite food and he has tried them in various ways, such as on pizza. (voiced by Michaela Dietz): A six-year-old anthropomorphic orange and green Hadrosaur, who is Baby Bop and BJ's cousin, Riff has been on the show since September 18, 2006. He wears green sneakers. His theme music is "I Hear Music Everywhere". Riff loves music and it is in almost everything he does. In the episode "Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse", it was revealed that Riff also likes to invent things; he created a four-sound smoke detector (the first three were different alarm sounds and the final one his voice). He is shown to have an interest in marching bands and parades.
Adults and children The adults and children on the show often appear as teachers, storytellers, or other characters.
Multiple appearances Role Actor Description and Appearances Mother GooseSandy Walper, Michelle McCarel,Julie Johnson The rhyme master herself appears in the episodes "Let's Help Mother Goose", "Honk! Honk! A Goose on the Loose", "A Little Mother Goose", "Barney's Big Surprise", and "Mother Goose/Fairy Tales". Stella the Storyteller Phyllis Cicero Stella travels all around the world, collecting new stories to tell Barney and friends, among other people. She appeared in several episodes from seasons 3 to 6 but reappeared in the video The Best of Barney, where she gave Barney a photo album of his friends over the years she made herself. After she finishes a story and when she says goodbye in every foreign language, she says her catchphrase "Toodles!" before closing the door. Tomie dePaola Himself The famous children's author is also a good friend of Barney and usually meets his friends in the episodes he appeared in, which are "Picture This", "It's Raining, It's Pouring", and "Oh Brother, She's my Sister". Mom Sandy Duncan Michael and Amy's mother in the first three Barney & the Backyard Gang videos.Duncan also appeared as Molly the Mermaid in A Day at the Beach. Dad Bob Reed Michael and Amy's father in the first three Barney & the Backyard Gang videos. Mr. Boyd Robert Sweatmon His full name is Grady Boyd and he has a niece named Colleen and a dog named Bingo. He worked as a musician in "Classical Cleanup", "Barney's Band", "Come Blow Your Horn!" and "Play Piano with Me!", a janitor in seasons 3 to 6 and a park keeper in seasons 7 and 8. He later reappeared in The Best of Barney. Colleen Claire Burdett Colleen is Mr. Boyd's niece, who comes to town for a visit and is introduced to Barney and the Children. She is a congenital amputee born without her right hand, as is her actress. She appeared in two episodes, "A New Friend!" and "A Perfectly Purple Day".LindaAdrianne KangasLinda is Chip's younger sister who appeared in Seasons 5–6, as well as two home videos. David Robert Hurtekant David is a boy in a wheelchair who appeared at the beginning of two episodes: "Falling for Autumn!" and "Shawn and the Beanstalk".
Puppets A lot of puppets appeared in many seasons. The most notable puppets were: Scooter McNutty, a brown squirrel (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Todd Duffey Miss Etta Kette, a purple bird (seasons: 4–6, 1997–2000) performed and voiced by Brice Armstrong; Armstrong also voiced Beauregard the Cat in the video It's Time for Counting. Booker T. Bookworm, an orange worm with interests in books (season 5: 1998–1999) performed and voiced by Earl Fisher
Children
Throughout the series' run, over 100 children have appeared in the series, with most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Only a small portion of these actors have made notable appearances in media since their roles, including: Danielle Vega: played Kim in seasons 4–6 Demi Lovato: played Angela in seasons 7–8 Selena Gomez: played Gianna in seasons 7–8 Peyton Alex Smith: played Jamal in season 10 Debby Ryan: played Debby in season 10 Madison Pettis: played Bridget in season 10 Jaren Lewison: played Joshua in seasons 12–13
Episodes
Broadcast and streaming Other than the United States, the series has aired in Canada, Mexico and Latin America, France, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan (on English-based DVDs under the name "" and on television as simply ""), the Philippines, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Australian based company and distributor Southern Star handled non-US rights to the series from the mid-'90s until 2001 when HIT revoked the deal after acquiring Lyrick Studios.