Everyone’s favorite aging rock star puppet, Red, is going international. The creators of Red Band, the popular, award-winning Israeli mockumentary series featuring an all-puppet band led by a foul-mouthed English-speaking purple puppet named Red, will be teaming up with Counterbalance Entertainment, the creators of the Netflix series Cobra Kai, and yes Studios to develop a series called The New Red.
Red Orbach, an old-time rock star whose best days are behind him and whose every utterance is filled with four-letter words and very un-PC wisecracks, is the creation of puppeteer Ari Pfeffer. In The New Red, the famous puppet will be a judge on a mediocre singing competition, trying to get sober for the first time in his life while he attempts to fix the relationships his addiction destroyed.
In the new series, Pfeffer will continue to voice and puppeteer Red, and the series will feature a mixture of covers and comedy fans have loved for more than 15 years. Red Band, created by MYTV’s Lee Yardeni and Aviram Buhris, gained a cult-like following and was the most viewed series on VOD during its initial run on cable. The series won numerous awards, including the Israeli TV Academy Award for Best Comedy Series and Best Screenplay. Red Band also toured and appeared in ads.
Cobra Kai co-executive producer Michael Jonathan Smith is attached to write and executive produce, along with other executives from the Emmy-nominated series, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, and Counterbalance Entertainment head of development Dina Hillier. In addition, yes Studios’ managing director Danna Stern and Adam Berkowitz of Lenore Entertainment Group will executive produce alongside Barak Bar Cohen, and Pfeffer and Buhris of the original series.
Buhris, executive producer at MYTV said, “We are thrilled to partner with the talented team at Counterbalance as we let Red Orbach loose on to the world; we have no doubt that audiences will love this fuzzy purple rock star – as much as we do.”
Stern, the managing director of yes Studios said, “Red Band is an iconic and perennial Israeli brand, and it’s an honor to be able to bring its latest incarnation – The New Red to US and global audiences with the creative team at Counterbalance, who share our love of these zany characters and the unique world which they inhabit.”
In other news from yes Studios, the company announced on Monday that Stern would be leaving her position at the end of the year and that Keren Gleicher, currently VP of content at the studio, would be stepping in. Stern was chosen as one of the 500 most influential people in the global entertainment industry by Variety and is credited with pioneering sales of Israeli content abroad, notably the sale of Fauda to Netflix. In addition, two US shows based on Yes originals had their premieres in 2020: the Showtime miniseries, Your Honor, starring Bryan Cranston, and 68 Whiskey, produced by Imagine for Paramount Network. She is also one of the executive producers of the US remake of another Israeli series from Yes, On the Spectrum, with Jason Katims (Parenthood, Friday Night Lights) also executive producing.
Stern said, “With the great development in the international production arena, the time has come to go out into the world and bring stories to the global market. I am excited about the possibilities that have opened up for Israeli art and creators – and the opportunity I have to fulfill dreams.”