 Logo used since 2001 | |
 TheRadford Studio Center in Los Angeles, pictured in 2012 | |
| Formerly | Muppets, Inc. (1958–1976; 1985) Henson Associates, Inc. (1976–1987) Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (1987–1997) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | November 20, 1958; 67 years ago (1958-11-20) |
| Founders | Jim andJane Henson |
| Headquarters | Radford Studio Center,, U.S. |
Key people | Brian Henson (chairman) Lisa Henson (president &CEO) |
| Products | Puppetry, Animation, Computer graphics, Digital puppetry, Entertainment |
| Brands |
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| Owner | Henson family |
| Divisions | Jim Henson's Creature Shop Henson Recording Studios Jim Henson Animation Studios Henson Alternative |
| Website | henson |
The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known asMuppets, Inc.,Henson Associates, Inc., andJim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to asHenson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field ofpuppetry, particularly through the creation ofKermit the Frog and theMuppets characters.[1]
Brian Henson is chairman andLisa Henson is CEO. Since 2026, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered at theRadford Studio Center inStudio City.
The company was established on November 20, 1958 bypuppeteersJim andJane Henson,[2] and is currently independently owned and operated by their children. Henson has produced many successful television series, includingThe Muppet Show (1976–1981),Fraggle Rock (1983–1987), andBear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006); as well, the company designed the Muppet characters forSesame Street (1969–present).
The company has also produced theatrical films, includingThe Muppet Movie (1979),The Dark Crystal (1982) andLabyrinth (1986). Henson also operatesJim Henson's Creature Shop, ananimatronics andspecial effects studio which has created characters and digital effects for both Henson productions and outside projects.[3] In 1989, the company entered merger negotiations withthe Walt Disney Company, which were canceled following Jim Henson's death in 1990.
Subsequently, control of the company was assumed by Henson's children:Lisa,Cheryl,Brian,John, andHeather. In 2000, Henson was sold to German media companyEM.TV & Merchandising AG; by the end of that year, however, EM.TV's stock collapsed, and the Henson family re-acquired the company in 2003.
In the interim, EM.TV sold the rights to theSesame Street Muppets toSesame Workshop in early January 2001,[4] following a December 2000 announcement. Henson sold The Muppets andBear in the Big Blue House properties to Disney in 2004, but retains the remainder of its program library and assets.
As of 2026[update], Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, and Heather Henson maintain control of the company. Their mother, Jane Henson, died on April 2, 2013 and brother, John Henson, died on February 14, 2014.
Jim andJane Henson officially founded Muppets, Inc. on November 20, 1958, three years afterSam and Friends debuted onWRC-TV in Washington, D.C. Aside fromSam and Friends, the majority of its work until 1969 was in advertising; appearances on late-night talk shows; and short "meeting films" primarily for enterprise use, produced from 1965 to 1996. In 1968, the company began designing characters and producing short films for the fledglingSesame Street, which premiered onNET (succeeded byPBS) in November 1969.
One of the company's first characters to appear regularly on television,Rowlf the Dog, originated in commercials forPurina Dog Chow and became a regular character onThe Jimmy Dean Show from 1963 to 1966. During this time, the show's host,Jimmy Dean, refused an opportunity to own 40% of the company, assuming that he did not attain that right. Jim Henson also pitched several different projects to the major American television networks, to little avail. Some ideas became unaired pilots, while others were never produced.NBC included the Muppets as part of “The Land of Gorch” sketch series on the first season ofSaturday Night Live (then justSaturday Night). However, disagreements between Henson’s team and the SNL cast and crew ultimately led to the partnership dissolving.[5]
In 1976, producerLew Grade approached Henson to produce a weekly series in Grade's native United Kingdom. This series becameThe Muppet Show, produced byAssociated Television (ATV) for theITV network. The success ofThe Muppet Show led to the Muppets becoming an enduringmedia franchise. Another company controlled by Grade,ITC Entertainment, originally ownedThe Muppet Show, among other Henson productions, but Henson acquired the rights to these productions in the 1980s. During this time, Henson formedJim Henson's Creature Shop, a special effects studio partially responsible for the filmsThe Dark Crystal andLabyrinth; and television seriesThe StoryTeller,Farscape, andDinosaurs.
Later in his life, Henson producedFraggle Rock andThe Jim Henson Hour. In August 1989, Henson andDisney CEOMichael Eisner began merger discussions reportedly valued at $150 million, which also included a fifteen-year contract for Henson's personal "creative services."[6] However, the deal did not include the rights to theSesame Street characters, which were owned by Henson, although merchandising revenue was split between Henson and theChildren's Television Workshop.
Also during the negotiations, management of the company's Henson International Television distribution unit based in the United Kingdom purchased their unit from the company, leading to the establishment ofHIT Entertainment.[7] On May 16, 1990, as negotiations continued, Jim Henson died oftoxic shock syndrome. Following Henson's death, neither Disney nor Jim Henson Productions could come to an accord. Negotiations officially ended in December 1990, and Henson remained an independent company.[8][9]
The Henson family assumed management of the company, and Brian Henson was named president, chairman, and CEO in January 1991.[10] In the following years, Henson entered into deals with several companies, including television rights to the Henson library withDisney Channel andNickelodeon; a record label withBMG Kidz; and a home media label called Jim Henson Video in partnership withBuena Vista Home Video, which lasted until late 1997.[11] In 1995, Henson entered into an agreement withABC to produce primetime television series, leading toMuppets Tonight andAliens in the Family.
Following the releases ofThe Muppet Christmas Carol andMuppet Treasure Island byWalt Disney Pictures, Henson formedJim Henson Pictures withSony Pictures Entertainment. In 1998, the company signed a deal withColumbia TriStar Home Video to launch Jim Henson Home Entertainment.[12] By 1999, Henson held partial interests in two cable channels: TheKermit Channel (broadcasting in Asia) and Odyssey Network (broadcasting in the United States), both jointly owned with Hallmark Entertainment. After Hallmark (throughCrown Media Holdings) assumed full ownership of these networks, the Kermit Channel was discontinued and Odyssey was renamed theHallmark Channel.
In 2000, the Henson family sold the company to the German media companyEM.TV & Merchandising AG, for $680 million.[13][14] That summer, EM.TV sold Henson's stakes in the Odyssey and Kermit cable channels in exchange for an 8.2% stake in Hallmark-controlled Crown Media Holdings.[15] By the end of 2000, after EM.TV subsequently experienced major financial problems, EM.TV sold the company's ownership of theSesame Street Muppets and Henson's small interest in theNoggin television network to Sesame Workshop,[16] and by early 2001, Henson itself was marked for sale.[17] Disney,[18]Viacom,[19]HIT Entertainment,[20]AOL Time Warner,[21]Haim Saban,[22]Classic Media,[23] as well as Henson management, among others, were all parties reportedly interested in acquiring the company.
In December 2002, a deal was announced in which EM.TV would sell a 49.9% stake in Henson to an investment group led by Dean Valentine, a former executive at Disney andUPN.[24] However, in March 2003, the deal was canceled, citing financial issues on Valentine's part.[25] In May 2003, EM.TV was reportedly nearing an agreement to sell Henson to aconsortium between Classic Media and Sesame Workshop (with financing from Sony Pictures Entertainment),[26] until the Henson family re-acquired the company for a closing price of $84 million.[27]
Four months later in September of that year following the re-acquisition of The Jim Henson Company by the Henson family from EM.TV in May of that year, The Jim Henson Company had shuttered its British production operations as its two UK/European executives Martin Baker and Angus Fletcher depaturing the company[28]
In February 2004, Henson sold the Muppets andBear in the Big Blue House to Disney,[29] who subsequently formedThe Muppets Studio (known at that time as The Muppets Holding Company). The term "Muppet", likewise, became a legal trademark of Disney; Sesame Workshop retained permission to use the term for itsSesame Street characters under a perpetuity license from Disney.
On April 1, 2004, Henson andHIT Entertainment agreed to a five-year global distribution and production deal which included distribution of 440 hours of the company's remaining library includingFraggle Rock,[30]Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas,[31]The Hoobs andJim Henson's Mother Goose Stories. In addition, the agreement also included the production of new properties, includingFrances, in which both companies co-produced and also both co-own the copyright to the series.[32] After that deal expired in April 2009,[33] Henson entered into similar agreements withLionsgate Home Entertainment on August 10, 2009[34] and later withGaiam Vivendi Entertainment three years later on October 25, 2012.[35] As well, the company became involved with computer-animated projects, including the direct-to-videoUnstable Fables series;Sid the Science Kid;Dinosaur Train; andSplash and Bubbles, as well as the puppet seriesPajanimals.
Henson later formed Henson Alternative, which specializes in adult content, including the live shows known alternatively asPuppet Improv,Puppet Up!,[36] andStuffed and Unstrung. In recent years, theFraggle Rock characters have made several appearances, usually at special events. The characters appeared withBen Folds Five in the music video for "Do It Anyway";[37] and in 2013, Gobo and Red Fraggle hosted aFraggle Rock marathon on theHub Network.
In 2019,The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,[38] a prequel toThe Dark Crystal, premiered onNetflix.[39] In 2022,Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, a reboot ofFraggle Rock, premiered onApple TV+.
On August 10, 2022, the company signed a worldwide distribution agreement withShout! Factory which would allow Shout! to distribute thirteen series and specials from the Jim Henson catalog on home entertainment and streaming platforms across all territories.[40] A similar worldwide distribution agreement went into effect on January 5, 2024, for streaming, video on demand, broadcast, digital download, packaged media and certain non-theatrical rights for the filmsLabyrinth andThe Dark Crystal, as well as behind the scenes specialsInside the Labyrinth andThe World of the Dark Crystal.[41]
On June 20, 2024, the company announced they were planning to sell the Jim Henson Company Lot off La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, which it purchased in 1999, as “part of a much longer-term strategy to have The Jim Henson Company and our renowned Burbank-based Jim Henson’s Creature Shop under one roof, which is not feasible in Hollywood due to the space the Shop requires.”[42] In November 2024, film producerMcG and musicianJohn Mayer bought the lot for $40 million.[43][44][45]
On February 25, 2025, the company appointed DeAPlaneta Entertainment as its distributor and licensor for several Henson properties such asFraggle Rock,Dinosaur Train,Dot. andPajanimals in European territories.[46]
 The Jim Henson Television logo used from 1997 to 2006. | |
| Company type | Division of The Jim Henson Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 1955; 71 years ago (1955) |
| Founder | Jim Henson |
| Defunct | April 28, 2006; 19 years ago (2006-04-28) |
| Fate | Disbanded and folded into The Jim Henson Company |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Television series |
From 1969 to 2001, Henson was contracted to design and create Muppet characters forSesame Street. With the exception of occasional appearances in the Muppets franchise, the characters were used exclusively forSesame Street, but Henson legally owned these characters prior to their acquisition by Sesame Workshop. The only exception wasKermit the Frog, who was featured in other projects prior toSesame Street. Sesame Workshop retains the rights to use anySesame Street footage featuring the character.
The sale ended any direct affiliation between The Muppets andSesame Street, although the series retains use of the term "Muppet" under license from Disney. Many of the puppeteers continue to perform with both The Muppets andSesame Street franchises. While no longer owning theSesame Street characters, Henson continues to design them.[47] This list excludes pre-2001Sesame Street co-productions outside the United States.
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