| Alt Name: | The Hot Fudge Show |
| Genre: | Children's television series |
| Starring: | Arte Johnson (season 1) Larry Santos Ron Coden Amanda Caruthers Yolanda Williams |
| Voices: | Bob Elnicky Larry Santos Ron Coden |
| Country: | United States |
| Num Seasons: | 4 |
| Producer: | Barry Hurd Bob Elnicky |
| Runtime: | 22 - 24 minutes |
| Network: | WXYZ-TV Syndication |
Hot Fudge (also known as The Hot Fudge Show) is an American children's television series that was produced in Detroit by WXYZ-TV (owned and operated at the time by ABC) and distributed by the Lexington Broadcast Services Company.[1] Originally airing only in Detroit beginning in 1974, the show grew in popularity and was syndicated nationally from 1976 to 1980;[2] a few of WXYZ's sister ABC-owned stations (including KGO and WLS) carried the program.
Featuring music, songs, and sketches with live actors and puppets (known as the "Mits") in a manner similar to Sesame Street, the show was originally hosted by Arte Johnson. The duo of the bearded musician Larry (Larry Santos) and green, fuzzy, monster-like puppet Seymour (voiced by producer Bob Elnicky) took over after the first season.
Glenn Denver, a puppet parody of John Denver, released an album titled Glenn Denver Sings Country Songs from the Hot Fudge T.V. Show. Three other Hot Fudge albums were released; The Electric Fuzz's Rock 'N Roll from the Hot Fudge T.V. Show, Larry and Seymour Sing Songs from the Hot Fudge T.V. Show, and Hooray For Friendship and 9 Other Hits from the Hot Fudge T.V. Show, Plus Nine More. All of the albums have been released on CD.
A Hot Fudge episode was submitted to the University of Georgia for a Peabody Award in 1974; though not selected for the award itself, it was retained for the university's Peabody Awards Collection Archives.[3] The show won a Puppeteers of America ACT AWARD in 1976.[4]
Version 1 (Seasons 1 & 2): The day's "Secret Feeling" is revealed, the puppet contestant is introduced and Professor Emotion tries to get the contestant to feel the "Secret Feeling" shown under the window of the contestant's "isolation booth"
Version 2 (Seasons 3 & 4): Puppet contestants watch a video clip of other puppets and try to guess how they feel. This is shown in two parts with an in-show commercial sandwiched in-between.
On Wednesday, December 5, 2007, Detroit PBS member station WTVS presented a 90-minute reunion special, featuring the original cast, including Larry and Seymour. The special featured memories of the program interspersed with clips from the series.[5] A rerun of the episode was aired on December 14, 2007.