Mattel is re-launching “Barney” as an ANIMATED series in 2024. There’s also a possibility of MOVIES and YouTube content. Mattel says, quote, “We will tap into the nostalgia of the generations who grew up with Barney, now parents themselves, and introduce the iconic purple dinosaur to a new generation of kids and families.”
Barney the purple dinosaur is making a comeback with a new look https://t.co/8lCpqlRbZr
— WLKY (@WLKY) February 14, 2023
Did you know there’s a couple of Shreveport connection to the original “Barney and Friends” show?
For starters, Barney himself is from Shreveport. Well, not the purple dinosaur, but the man inside the suit! Shreveport’s own Josh Martin was known to be a costume performer of Barney from 1996 until 2009. An unrelated but extremely cool piece of information; Martin was also the voice of Majin Buu, Kid Buu, and Evil Buu for the English dubs of the Dragon Ball franchise.
Also, one of the child actors, Rickey Carter, is actually a Shreveport native. His “Barney Wiki Fandom” page says:
Rickey Lynn Carter (born November 9, 1981 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American rapper and former actor. Later, he moved from Shreveport to North Dallas, Texas with his mother. At a young age, Carter was an actor on the children’s television series Barney & Friends and the preceding Barney & The Backyard Gang videos portraying as “Derek“.
((Featured Image Photo Credit: MATTEL)
