Janice Burgess (1952-2024) was a former TV executive and producer who worked at Nickelodeon from 1995 to 2014. She created The Backyardigans and later became a story editor and writer for Nickelodeon's revival of Winx Club.
Burgess joined Nickelodeon as an executive-in-charge of production, overseeing shows like Gullah Gullah Island and Blue's Clues. She later pitched her own show, a live-action pilot called "Me and My Friends," which was based on her own childhood that she spent playing in her backyard. The idea went through some changes before Nickelodeon picked it up, eventually getting turned into an animated show called The Backyardigans.
On Backyardigans, each episode is an animated mini-musical of its own, with its own original songs and choreography. In an interview, Burgess explained: "As for why it is a musical - why not?" Across its four-season run, she wrote many of the episodes, like "Whodunit" and the two-part special "Robot Rampage".
After Backyardigans ended production, Burgess moved onto Nickelodeon's revival of Winx Club. She was a story editor for the half-hour specials as well as a writer and creative director for the regular episodes. A lot of her Backyardigans co-workers also joined as writers for the show.
Burgess Passed Away on March 2, 2024, while in hospice care in Manhattan after being diagnosed with breast cancer.[1]
May She Rest In Peace.
Trivia[]
- Janice Burgess is the second Nicktoon creator to pass away, after SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg.
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References[]
- ↑ NickALive!: Janice Burgess, Longtime Nickelodeon Producer and Creator of 'The Backyardigans' Passes Away, Aged 72