Janice Burgess, creator of the beloved animated children’s show The Backyardigans, has died at the age of 72.
Burgess’ death was announced via Instagram on March 4. Fracaswell Hyman, a writing veteran in the industry, posted the heartbreaking news with a touching image of his fallen friend. He spoke fondly of his former boss, describing her as having “acid-tongued wit.”
“Janice Burgess 1952-2024. I met Janice Burgess early in my career when I was head writer on GULLAH GULLAH ISLAND, and she was assigned to be our Executive in Charge of Production. This is the person the network sends to the set to make sure the money is not going to waste. Janice swept in with her acid-tongued wit, flowing Hermes scarves and omnipresent cigarettes. “
Hyman continued bragging about the producer, “Instead of an overseer, she became a friend. She recognized my magic before I did and made sure I was in the room and under consideration for many of the shows that came my way, including LITTLE BILL and TAINA. Janice created THE BACKYARDIGANS and guided countless other shows for Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, Disney and Apple TV. Her script/story critiques were astute, clear and constructive – and I really thank her for that.
Janice, Maria Perez-Brown and I developed shows together, gossiped together and, oh, how we laughed! I will miss my dear friend. RIP. Oh, how we laughed,” Hyman wrote about the show’s creator.
Burgess turned 72 on March 1. News of her death quickly hit social media, where fans of her shows, especially fans of Gullah Gullah Island and The Backyardigans, shared the reactions and best memories from the series that touched so many children and adults because of its intentional representation of urban children and culture.
Burgess was an eight-time Daytime Emmy nominee, winning an Emmy in 2008 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for The Backyardigans and in 2004 for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program for Little Bill. The talented producer and showrunner first joined Nickelodeon in 1995, coming from public television.
The Backyardigans premiered on Nickelodeon on October 11, 2004, and Burgess served as the show’s executive producer, working her way up to senior vice president of Nick Jr.
“The Backyardigans has become sort of like an adventure that I go on with my friends. Of course, we get paid, but we do get to be carefree in our work, enjoy each other, hang around a lot, travel a little bit, and make up stuff.”
The popular children’s show had five characters– Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Austin and Uniqua (her character was based on the producer’s real life growing up in Pittsburgh.) Her adventures in her neighborhood inspired the experiences on the show.
Here are some of our favorite bops from The Backyardigans!
