Inferno to Produce Northern Ireland Sesame Street

BELFAST/NEW
YORK, July 30: SixteenSouth, part of The Inferno Group, has been
selected to produce Northern Ireland’s version of Sesame Street, made in association with Sesame Workshop.

The series will be broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland from
February and will be accompanied by a website with content for children,
parents and teachers.

Members of the production team
convened in Belfast last week to begin the development of the project, which will
present stories and characters keyed to the Foundation Stage of the new
Northern Ireland curriculum. The 20×15-minute Irish production will emphasize a
range of objectives including valuing citizenship and diversity, developing
problem-solving skills, becoming aware of our common humanity and appreciating
similarities and differences. Children will be introduced to their peers
through locally produced live-action films that will be shot in urban and rural
areas throughout Northern Ireland. There will also be Muppets created
specifically for Northern Ireland.

Leading the Northern Ireland
team will be executive producer Colin Williams, who is also the managing
director of The Inferno Group. Other Sesame Street Northern Ireland team members include Candida Julian-Jones, producer;
Ronan McCloskey, producer and director of live action films; Ian McDonald,
script editor and head writer; Kieran Doherty, writer; Danny Nash, writer; and
Ian Nugent, writer.

“We’re incredibly excited to
move forward with this important project,” said Gary E. Knell, the president
and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “The Inferno Group has created an exciting original
concept and assembled some of the most creative directors, producers, editors,
writers, and designers from Northern Ireland. Together with the BBC, we’ll be
able to develop a unique show that will be relevant, humorous, engaging, and
reflective of a brighter future for the children of Northern Ireland.”

International Fund for Ireland,
which promotes integration and reconciliation for Northern Ireland and the
border counties, recently awarded a grant for the production of the series. Additional
funding is provided by the American Ireland Fund, which serves as the project’s
anchor sponsor, and the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation, which
provides support for projects that promote reconciliation through community
development and education.