# Josh Selig

Joshua Selig (born May 12, 1964) is an American television producer and director. He won ten Daytime Emmy Awards for his work as a writer on Sesame Street. After leaving Sesame Street, Selig partnered with Lori Shaer to create a studio called Little Airplane Productions. Through Little Airplane, Selig produced Oobi for Noggin, Wonder Pets! for Nickelodeon, and 3rd & Bird for the BBC.
Josh Selig left Little Airplane in 2020.

## Early life

Josh Selig was born on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He began his career as a child actor on Sesame Street during its first two seasons. As a young adult, Selig attended Sarah Lawrence College, where he studied theater and poetry. He returned to Sesame Street in 1988 as a writer. He also worked on the Israeli-Palestinian and Polish adaptations of the show during the 1990s.

## Career

In 1998, he conceived the idea for Little Airplane Productions. The company was initially a joint effort between Selig and Lori Shaer (née Sherman). Until 2005, the studio's works were solely live-action. Oobi was the first original series produced by the company; it began as a series of interstitials in 2000 and later ran for two seasons of half-hour episodes. The series was heavily inspired by Selig's time as a Sesame Street writer; he based its puppet characters on a training method used by Muppet performers learning to lip-sync, in which they use their bare hands and a pair of ping pong balls instead of a puppet. In 2003, Selig wrote and directed a short film titled The Time-Out Chair. Written and directed by Selig, the film premiered at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and was later acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. Profits from Oobi allowed Selig to create an animation division at Little Airplane, leading it to shift to an animation-based studio.
Selig, formerly a member of the Writers Guild of America, East, left and maintained financial core status.
Selig created Go, Baby! in 2004 as a series for Playhouse Disney. In 2003, he directed two pilots for the Wonder Pets! series along with Jennifer Oxley. The show premiered in the United States on March 3, 2006 on Nickelodeon and Noggin. Selig opened two new branches of Little Airplane in London and Abu Dhabi in 2007. Josh Selig's first international co-production, 3rd & Bird, debuted on CBeebies in June 2008. He continued to produce short-form series throughout the 2010s. Small Potatoes, commissioned by Disney Junior, spawned a television movie that Selig directed in 2013. In the same year, he pitched a pilot titled The Jo B. & G. Raff Show! to Amazon Studios, which was not picked up. He is currently the creator and executive producer of Disney's P. King Duckling and of the South Korean series Super Wings.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Credit(s) |
| 1969–1971 1988–2002 | Sesame Street | Child actor (1969–1971) Writer (1988–2002) |
| 1999–2000 | Little Bill | Head writer |
| 2000–2005 | Oobi | Creator Executive producer Director (full-length episodes) |
| 2003 | The Time-Out Chair | Writer Director |
| 2003 | Fisher Price Baby Development videos | Producer |
| 2004 | Go, Baby! | Creator |
| 2006 | Tarzan: The Musical | Animation director (Son of Man segment) |
| 2006–2016 | Wonder Pets! | Creator Writer Developer Executive Producer |
| 2008–2010 | 3rd & Bird | Creator Executive producer |
| 2010 | Tobi! | Creator |
| 2010 | The Olive Branch | Creator Writer |
| 2011 | Small Potatoes | Creator Executive producer |
| 2013 | Meet the Small Potatoes | Creator Writer Director |
| 2013–2014 | Sing It, Laurie! | Creator Executive producer |
| 2014 | Domo Rock! | Writer Director |
| 2014 | The Jo B. & G. Raff Show! (Amazon Studios pilot) | Creator Writer |
| 2015 | Super Wings | Executive producer |
| 2016–2017 | P. King Duckling | Creator Executive producer |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Presenter | Category/Award | Work | Status |
| 1990 | 17th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1991 | 18th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1992 | 19th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1993 | 20th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Nominated |
| 1994 | 21st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1995 | 22nd Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1996 | 23rd Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Nominated |
| 1997 | 24th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Nominated |
| 1998 | 25th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 1999 | 26th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 2000 | 27th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Nominated |
| 2001 | Parents' Choice Foundation | Television Gold Award | Oobi | Won |
| 2001 | Coalition for Quality Children's Media | Kids First Endorsement Award | Oobi | Won |
| 2001 | Coalition for Quality Children's Media | Best Children's Film or Video | Oobi | Nominated |
| 2001 | 28th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 2002 | 29th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 2003 | 30th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series (shared with other writers) | Sesame Street | Won |
| 2004 | Humanitas | Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation | Little Bill | Won |
| 2004 | Parents' Choice Foundation | Television Silver Honor | Oobi | Won |
| 2008 | Crain Communications | Crain's Small Business Award | N/A | Won |
| 2009 | NHK Japan Prize | Best TV Series | Wonder Pets! | Won |
| 2009 | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation | Innovation Award | Oobi | Won |
| 2010 | 2010 Gracie Awards | Outstanding Children/Adolescent Animated Program | Wonder Pets! | Won |
| 2010 | BAMkids Film Festival | Best Short Film for Ages 2–5 | Small Potatoes | Won |
| 2012 | 39th Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition | Wonder Pets! | Won |
| 2014 | 41st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Pre-School Children's Animated Program | Wonder Pets! | Nominated |
| 2014 | 41st Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition | Wonder Pets! | Nominated |
| 2015 | 3rd Canadian Screen Awards | Best Pre-School Program or Series | The Adventures of Napkin Man | Won |