Lyrick Studios

**Lyrick Studios, Inc.** was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas, a suburb in Dallas. They were known for producing and distributing shows like _Barney_ and _Wishbone,_ as well as videos and albums from two music artists, _Joe Scruggs_ and _The Wiggles._ They also had book rights to Humongous Entertainment characters like _Putt-Putt_, _Freddi Fish_, and _Pajama Sam_. They paired with Big Idea for mass market distribution of prints and reprints of _VeggieTales_ home videos, as well as rights to _VeggieTales_ plush toys. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by HIT Entertainment and the two companies merged in June the same year.

### Before Lyrick Studios (1988-93)

In 1988, The Lyons Group was formed as a division of DLM, Inc., an educational company owned by Richard C. Leach. Lyons began producing and distributing a direct-to-video pilot series titled _Barney & the Backyard Gang_, which was created by Leach's daughter-in-law, Sheryl Leach. Three years after the home video series debuted, Barney caught the attention of executives at PBS, and the concept was then changed for television as _Barney & Friends_. The show started broadcasting on the organization's flagship television service on April 6, 1992.

### The Acquisitions and Expansion Era (1994-2000)

Lyrick Studios was formed in 1997, and became a division of a new company under the name Lyons Partnership. The company logo made its debut on Tuesday, March 11, 1997.

The company made the series _Wishbone_ for PBS in 1995. This series was produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, another division of the company, and was primarily filmed on a studio backlot in Allen, Texas.

In the late 1990s, Lyrick got the distribution (selling) rights for _VeggieTales_ and _The Wiggles._ They also had book and video game distribution rights for some Humongous Entertainment video game characters, such as _Putt-Putt_, _Freddi Fish_, and _Pajama Sam_.

### The HIT Entertainment Acquisition Era and Aftermath (2001)

According to Phil Vischer, he chose the company to release the videos since Lyrick Studios' founder and former chairman Richard C. Leach was a committed Christian, and the company let the religious tones on the shows remain intact, unlike other distributors Big Idea had asked beforehand. The company was acquired by HiT Entertainment on February 9, 2001, shortly before Richard C. Leach died.

#### Television

|Name|First release date|Final release date|Network|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Wishbone_|April 29, 1997|December 7, 1997|PBS|Big Feats! Entertainment Originally aired from October 9, 1995 to December 7, 1997.|
|_Barney & Friends_|May 6, 1997|August 31, 2001|Flagship franchise Originally aired from April 6, 1992 to August 31, 2001.||
|_Barney & the Backyard Gang_|September 16, 1997|July 18, 2000|VHS|Direct-to-video pilot series to _Barney & Friends_ Originally released from August 29, 1988 to August 1, 1991.|
|_Tall Tales & Legends_|June 16, 1998|August 4, 1998|Originally aired from September 25, 1985 to August 4, 1998.||
|_Groundling Marsh_|June 23, 1998|September 8, 1998|Disney Channel|Originally aired from June 27, 1994 to November 28, 1997.|
|_The Wiggles_|October 12, 1999 (music) August 1, 2000 (video) || August 31, 2001 || Fox Family VHS||US home video distributions||

#### Direct-to-Video

|Name|First release date|Last release date|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Joe Scruggs_|March 11, 1997|He was previously guest starred in the second season of Barney & Friends. Two specials were originally released only on VHS from 1989 to 1992. Co-distributed by Shadow Play.||

##### Religious Series

|Name|First release date|Last release date|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_The Faithful Revolution: Vatican II_|1997|Sole non-children's video release by Lyrick Studios.||
|_Francesco's Friendly World_|July 1, 1997|September 16, 1997||
|_VeggieTales_|December 16, 1997 (promotional release only) March 31, 1998 || March 27, 2001 || Mass-market distribution|||

#### Theatrical

|Name|Year|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- |
|_Barney's Great Adventure_|1998|PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures|

#### Television

|Name|Release date|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- |
|_Wishbone's Dog Days of the West_|March 13, 1998|Big Feats! Entertainment|
|_Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme_|June 16, 1998|The television movie was originally aired on Disney Channel in May 19, 1990.|

##### Public Service Announcements

|Name|Release date|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- |
|_Kids for Character_|April 23, 1996|Includes scenes from _The Puzzle Place_, _Barney & Friends_, _The Magic School Bus_, _Lamb Chop's Play-Along_, _Gullah Gullah Island_, and _Babar_|
|_Kids for Character: Choices Count_|October 14, 1997|Includes scenes from _Bananas in Pyjamas_, _The Big Comfy Couch_, and _Wishbone_|