Kirk Cameron is on a mission to transform the landscape of children’s entertainment with the launch of a new live-action television show that encompasses traditional values.
“Think of it as a wholesome ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ customized for this generation that has a faith and family values element to it,” the actor and best-selling author told The Epoch Times.
In the new series, titled “Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk,” Cameron, 54, portrays a retired pilot opposite a puppet iguana named Iggy—operated by John Kennedy, a veteran puppeteer recognized for his work on “Sesame Street.”
Cameron’s character serves as a mentor to Iggy, who lives in a treehouse in Mr. Kirk’s backyard. Throughout each episode, Mr. Kirk helps Iggy navigate various roadblocks in life, conveying moral values and lessons to young viewers in the process.
“Children are watching cartoons and television shows and they’re being filled with so many ideas and values that parents are not happy with that are confusing to kids,” Cameron explained.
“We want to shine light in that darkness, so we’ve come up with a show that reinforces wholesome family values—traditional, American, constitutional, and biblical values—while maintaining the entertainment ‘wow’ factor.”
In addition to its world-class puppets, “Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk” showcases beautiful animation, high energy, and hilarious dialogue, Cameron said.
The show also features other actors from beloved television shows, including Leigh-Allyn Baker, an actress best known for her role on the Disney Channel sitcom “Good Luck Charlie.”
Cameron acknowledged that making a virtuous, Mister Rogers-esque children’s show capable of holding the attention of young, modern-day viewers was challenging.
Family-Friendly Entertainment
Two episodes of the family-friendly series were shown before an audience of 300 children at a premiere in Nashville, Tennessee, on Nov. 14.“What was really cool about this premiere that differentiated from so many Hollywood premieres is that it really was there to honor the children,” Cameron explained.
The “Growing Pains” star said young attendees were especially thrilled to meet the titular puppet iguana.
“The kids were laughing at all of the funny stuff; they really connected with Iggy as their friend,” he said, noting that the children were also appropriately distrustful of the show’s antagonistic character, a puppet vulture named Culture.
“Culture is always trying to twist the truth and deceive Iggy into thinking and believing things that are not right or true,” Cameron explained.
“It’s always because of the colorful cast of characters, including Mr. Kirk and his wife and daughter, who offer biblical wisdom that helps Iggy find his comfort and his peace and his ability to really thrive and flourish and make him a well-adjusted little iguana.”
“Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk” was a natural progression of the children’s books that Cameron has written with Christian publishing company Brave Books, including “As You Grow” (2022), “Pride Comes Before the Fall” (2023), and “The Fox, the Fair, and the Invention Scare” (2023).
Brave Books collaborated with Cameron on the children’s show. Each episode presents a value or lesson outlined in a corresponding novel from the company’s “Freedom Island” series, which includes the actor’s latest book, “Brave as a Lion,” released in November.
In late 2022, Cameron began hosting story hours at public libraries to read his books and help disseminate uplifting messages to a wide audience.
“When I started writing children’s books about virtues like faith, hope, and love, and those were being resisted by public library directors that preferred drag queens to read stories to children about gender fluidity and other topics, we knew that there was a real problem,” Cameron said.
“And that was confirmed by the thousands and thousands of parents and grandparents and Americans who came to these story readings at all of these libraries when we would show up.”
Following the marked success of the story hours, Cameron and Brave Books launched “See You at the Library,” an annual summer event that encourages families to host their own wholesome book readings at public libraries nationwide.
“We’re now saying, ‘Parents, come to the public library and read children’s books of virtue to your children and be in the leadership of their education rather than complaining about the things you don’t like,’” Cameron said. “Overcome the bad with the good.”
“Adventures with Iggy and Mr. Kirk” is slated to air on YouTube next spring. However, Cameron said he hopes the show will be made accessible across all streaming services.
“We’re still figuring out exactly what platforms it’s going to be launched on. We want it to go everywhere; we want every platform to have it so that there are no barriers for any families to get ahold of it,” he said.
“Even if we have to give it away for free and it’s on YouTube, everybody around the world can have it.”
