The Furchester Hotel

The Furchester Hotel is a Sesame Street co-production for CBeebies (BBC's preschool network), first shown September 26, 2014.
Set in the titular hotel, the series stars a monster family that runs the hotel: father Furgus Fuzz, mother Funella Furchester and daughter Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz. Elmo appears in the series as Phoebe's cousin, who is taking an extended stay at the hotel, along with Cookie Monster as the room-service and dining room waiter. Other characters include Isabel, a character with a bell in her head for the guests to ring, Gonger, the hotel chef and Harvey P. Dull, a long-term guest of the hotel.
The series promotes problem-solving, as the monsters try to figure out issues developed by their unique Muppet guests. Fifty-two, 11-minute episodes were produced beginning in February 2014 at MediaCityUK in Salford.
Beginning in November 2014, full episodes began being posted weekly to SesameStreet's YouTube Channel and Sesame Go. In January 2015, episodes were made available for purchase in the iTunes Store. Beginning in fall 2016, the series made its US television debut on Sprout. It was later removed from the block on March 2, 2019. In February 2017, the first 52 episodes were made available for streaming on Netflix.
In 2015, the show began airing in other countries, often with localized dubs. See International Furchester Hotel for more.
In February 2016, it was announced that a second season of the series was commissioned to start taping in May. The season consists of 50 episodes (including a double-length Christmas special) and features guest appearances by Big Bird, Count von Count and the Martians.Sesame Workshop press release The season premiered on October 31.
==Episodes==
:See Furchester Hotel Episodes
==Notes==
*Several years prior, the Sesame Street writing staff had been developing a project based on the Sesame Street hotel, the Furry Arms. Creator Belinda Ward, who helped write the original pitch, reworked the concept when the opportunity for a British co-production came about. She initially wanted to retain the title "The Furry Arms," but the creative team found that British establishments with "Arms" in the name were often pubs, and it was deemed inappropriate for a preschool-targeted program.Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show: Belinda Ward (Writer) || Ep. 211 (32:18) Instead, the name was incorporated as part of Funella's saying to new guests: "We welcome you with furry arms!" followed by a hug.
*Each episode begins with an overhead shot of the city, with a series of waterways and buildings placed in the shape of the face of one of the show's recurring characters.
==Credits==
thumb|300px|Elmo and Cookie Monster in a CBeebies host segment with Cat Sandion to promote the series; uploaded to the CBeebies YouTube Channel September 1, 2014
*Developed By and Lead Writer: Belinda Ward
*Educational Consultants: Rosemarie T. Truglio, Autumn Zitani, Professor Anna Craft, Jessica DeSalvo
*Composers and Musical Directors: Andrew Blythe and Marten Joustra
*Directors: Jack Jameson and Helen Scott
*Writers: Molly Boylan, Steve Cannon, Ian Carney, Chris Chantler, Simon Davies, Christine Ferraro, Michael Goldberg, Katherine Jakeways, Andrew Jones, Stuart Kenworthy, Emma Millions, Davey Moore, Ciaran Murtagh, George Poles, Howard Read, Luis Santeiro, Kathy Waugh
*Puppet Captain: Mak Wilson (Season 1), Andy Heath (Season 2)
*Puppeteers:
**Sarah Burgess as Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz
**Ryan Dillon as Elmo
**Louise Gold as Funella Furchester
**Andy Heath
**David Rudman as Cookie Monster
**Andrew James Spooner as Furgus Fuzz
**Matt Vogel as Big Bird and Count von Count (Season 2)
**Mak Wilson as Harvey P. Dull, Gonger and others (Season 1)
**Warrick Brownlow-Pike as Gonger (Season 2)
**Rebecca Nagan
**Neil Sterenberg as Harvey P. Dull (Season 2)
**Julie Westwood
**Paul Currie (Season 1)
**Damian Farrell (Season 1)
**Michael Winsor (Season 1)
*Assistant Puppeteers:
**Mikey Brett (Season 2)
**Sheila Clark
**Iestyn Evans (Season 2)
**Julia Frost (Season 2)
**Lesa Gillespie (Season 1)
**Colin Purves (Season 1)
**Toby Wilson (Season 1)
*Production Designer: Jane Cecchi
*Family Puppet Designer: Ed Christie
*Head of Puppets, Costumes and Props: Janet Knechtel
*Puppet Costumes and Props: Lucy Sturley, Robert Skidmore (Season 1), Catriona Rings and Charlotte Blyth
*The Jim Henson Creature Shop: Jason Weber, Melissa Creighton, Joseph Roddy, Jonathan Ehrich, Rollie Krewson, Connie Peterson, Joe Kovacs, Anney Ozar, Victoria Ellis, Andrea Detwiler, Sierra Schoening, Lara MacLean, Jane Pien, David Valentine, Casey Miller, Kate Rusek, Ben Durocher, Matt Witham, Brian Haimes, Liz Hara
*Executive Producers: Carol-Lynn Parente and Tony Reed
==See also==
*The Furry Arms Hotel
==Sources==
*"Sesame Street Muppets Elmo and Cookie head to UK in new series from Sesame Workshop and CBeebies". BBC.com. October 7, 2013.
*"Cookie Monster and Elmo to join CBeebies" (brief video) BBC.com. 7 October 7, 2013.
==External links==
*BBC
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Category:Sesame Street TV Shows
Category:International Sesame Street Shows
Category:Furchester Hotel