Bunim/Murray Productions is teaming up with Henson Alternative on a pilot that uses puppets to retell events from history and pop culture. History Of is aimed at adult viewers and presents a humorous and satirical take on the culture with the iconic Henson puppets re-enacting key moments and trends. Chris Regan, a Daily Show with Jon Stewart alum, has been signed as executive producer and head writer.
The show will aim for a subversive tone a la the animated fare on Fox and Comedy Central.
“By using puppets we can have some fun with history,” says Jonathan Murray, Chairman of Bunim/Murray Productions. “That’s the great thing about it. On South Park and The Simpsons, they can get away with things that you wouldn’t be able to get away with in a live action show.”
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The show will include memorable moments in the culture such as Michael Jackson’s infamous baby-dangling stunt at a Berlin hotel in 2002.
“We could even play with conjecture,” adds Murray. “We could act out several different possibilities about what was really going on [in Jackson’s Berlin hotel room].”
History Of will also mine cultural trends including the history of rap music or infamous sex scandals. Once the pilot is produced the companies will begin pitching it to networks including VH1 and History, says Murray.
“We can play with the format so that it would be a little bit more pop culture if it’s VH1, have a little bit more of a history bent to it if it’s History channel,” he says. “It’s a fairly flexible idea.”
Regan is a good fit having had plenty of experience writing political satire on the Daily Show. He was also a co-writer on Stewart’s controversial bestseller America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction.
Henson Alternative – the adult label of The Jim Henson Company – has also done Tinseltown for Logo, Puppet Up! Uncensored for TBS and the stage show Stuffed and Unstrung.
