Fraggle Rock 2022: when is Jim Henson reboot ‘Back to the Rock’ on Apple TV+, theme song, and who is in cast?

Fraggle Rock, the popular children’s TV show from the 80s, has officially been given the reboot treatment by Apple TV+, the streaming service from tech giant Apple.

This is everything you need to know about the reboot - and how you can watch it.

What is the Fraggle Rock reboot?

Fraggle Rock was a children’s comedy puppet TV series which originally debuted in 1983 and ran until 1987 with a total of 96 episodes. It centres around the four main species of characters - the Fraggles, Doozers, Gorgs and Silly Creatures.

It mainly follows the adventures of five Fraggles: Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red.

The series was created by Jim Henson, best known for creating the Muppets with famous characters like Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Beaker, Fozzie Bear and more.

The Fraggle Rock reboot comes after Apple TV+ aired the popular Fraggle Rock: Rock On! shorts in April 2020. Following the success of the shorts, the streaming platform ordered a full season of the reboot.

Announcing the reboot, Apple said: “Jim Henson’s fun-loving, musical Fraggles are back! Join Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey, Boober, and new Fraggle friends on hilarious, epic adventures about the magic that happens when we celebrate and care for our interconnected world.”

Who is in the cast?

Behind the scenes, the Fraggles are made up of a variety of puppeteers and voice actors, including:

• John Tartgalia (Sesame Street, Word Party Presents: Math!) as Gobo
• Karen Prell (The Ghost of Faffner Hall, The Slow Norris) as Red
• Donna Kimball (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Happytime Murders) as Moley
• Jordan Lockhart (Opie’s Home, Totally Random) as Wembley
• David Goelz (The Muppet Show, Sesame Street) as Boober
• Kevin Clash (Sesame Street, Earth to Ned) as Uncle Traveling Matt
• Lilli Cooper (Dynasty, The Code) as Doc

According to IMDb, some of the other puppeteers for Back to the Rock include Ali Eisner, Anna Cummer, Andrew G Cooper, Jennifer Bain, Brendan James Boyd and DeRic Starlight.

What’s the theme song?

The theme song for Fraggle Rock was created by a Canadian songwriter and composer Philip Balsam. Balsam also wrote a number of songs for the original Fraggle Rock TV series as well, alongside Dennis Lee and Tim Wynne-Jones.

The lyrics for the theme song goes as follows:

“Dance your cares away, worries for another day

Let the music play, Down in fraggle rock

Work your cares away, dancing is for another day

Let the fraggles play

We’re Gobo, Mokey, Weembly, Momo, Red!

Weeee! Wowie!

Dance your cares away, worries for another day

Let the music play

Down in fraggle rock

Down in fraggle rock

Down in fraggle rock”

When will it be released on Apple TV+?

The new Fraggle Rock reboot will be released on Friday 21 January 2022, with viewers able to look forward to 13 episodes.

As well as Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, Apple’s partnership with the Jim Henson Company also includes Harriet the Spy, which is the first animated adaptation of the popular children’s book, and Fraggle Rock: Rock On! shorts.

You can also stream the original Fraggle Rock on Apple TV+, as well as recently added bonus specials Down at Fraggle Rock, Doozer Music and Fraggle Songs which are all now streaming.

You can sign up to Apple TV+ through the Apple website for a seven day free trial.

After the free trial is done, Apple TV+ will then cost £4.99 per month. You can also get three months of free Apple TV+ when you buy an eligible Apple device, such as any new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac capable of using the latest iOS.

Apple TV+ is available via the Apple TV app and is compatible with smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and others, as well as on Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation and Xbox consoles and of course iPhones and iPads.

You can share your Apple TV+ subscription with up to five other family members via Family Sharing.

A message from the editor:Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.