Do you remember Jim Henson’s The Storyteller? Inspired by his daughter Lisa’s university studies in folklore and mythology, Henson created the program, which originally aired from 1987 to 1989, to bring European folktales to life. The titular character, played by the late John Hurt, sat by the fire, as has long been tradition, and delivered retellings of more obscure stories to his dog (voiced by Brian Henson) and the audience.

A miniseries focusing on Greek mythology aired in 1990 and featured Michael Gambon as the Storyteller. The dog (again voiced by Brian Henson) and his master wander through a labyrinth, searching for a way out, biding their time with Theseus, Perseus, Orpheus, and Daedalus.

For those of us who have achieved a certain age, The Storyteller was a formative part of our education in folklore and mythology. And of our love of all things deliciously creepy. Times being what they were, of course, that education was limited to the European canon.

Thankfully, most of us have since learned that the world is much larger and the stories that can be told doubly so. And our minds and hearts are richer for it, which is why we are excited to hear that Fremantle, the Jim Henson Company, and Neil Gaiman are reviving The Storyteller for a new, more diversely educated, generation.

Says Lisa Henson in a press release from Fremantle, and co-executive producer of the project along with Blanca Lista, “It has always been a special project for me… having worked so closely with my dad on the original concept… Neil Gaiman is an expert in traditional folklore and mythology, in addition to himself being the modern ‘storyteller’ for our times.  It is especially exciting to have Neil’s reimagining of the series brought to life by our Creature Shop, allowing us to share these classic stories with a whole new audience all around the world.”

Gaiman, who will also be an executive producer, added, “It’s a terrifying and inspiring task to reinvent what Jim Henson did for the golden age of television we are in right now, and I’m honored that The Jim Henson Company would entrust me with the task of bringing back the storyteller and his magical stories, and sending him out into the world for a whole new round of tales.”

We at the Roarbots can’t wait to see what Gaiman brings to The Storyteller from his research on books like American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Norse Mythology. As for who will be telling the tales, well… that bit is still a mystery.

Michael Gambon is a possibility, of course (I wonder if they let him keep the Dumbledore beard). And then there’s Gaiman himself, who’s as good at spinning a yarn with his voice as he is at doing so with a pen. Yetide Badaki, who plays Bilquis on the American Gods television adaptation, has done several audiobooks and is phenomenal, as is Lauren Fortgang, who reads Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels. The possibilities really are endless.

Stay tuned!