| Lyrick Studios | |
| Former Name: | The Lyons Group (1986–1994) |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Fate: | Acquired by and folded into HIT Entertainment. Used as the in-name IP holder for Barney & Friends until 2010. |
| Location: | Allen, Texas |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S. |
| Num Employees: | 650 (1997) |
| Parent: | HIT Entertainment |
Lyrick Studios, formerly The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas, best known for their flagship property Barney & Friends.
The company was known for producing and distributing television shows, home videos, audio products and children's books and toys. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by British entertainment company HIT Entertainment and completed in June. HIT later folded Lyrick in August.
The company traces its origins to 1986, when The Lyons Group was formed as a division of DLM, Inc., an educational company owned by Richard C. Leach.[1] Lyons began producing and distributing a direct-to-video series titled Barney & the Backyard Gang, which was created by Leach's daughter-in-law, Sheryl Leach. Three years after its debut, Barney caught the attention of PBS executives, who subsequently revamped the concept for television as Barney & Friends and began airing on the organization's flagship television service on April 6, 1992.[2]
Lyrick Studios was formed in 1994, and DLM sold The Lyons Group to Lyrick Studios becoming the new division of the former and was renamed under the new name Lyons Partnership. The company developed the series Wishbone for PBS in 1995. This series was produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, another division of the company, and was primarily filmed on a studio backlot in Allen, Texas.[3] In the late 1990s, Lyrick acquired the distribution rights for VeggieTales and The Wiggles and also distributed book publishing and video gaming rights for some Humongous Entertainment video game characters like Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam. On February 9, 2001, the company was acquired by HIT Entertainment for $275 million and the two companies completed their merger in June of that year, Lyrick continued to use their logo until it was later folded into HIT[4] on August 24, 2001. HIT also took over Lyrick's home video division and rebranded it under its name and it remained like this until 2006, when HIT Entertainment shuttered the division and began to release its products in the United States under third-parties instead.
| Name | First release date | Final release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barney and the Backyard Gang | August 29, 1988 | August 1, 1991 | Direct-to-video pilot series to Barney & Friends |
| Barney & Friends | April 6, 1992 | August 28, 2001[5] | Flagship franchise |
| Wishbone | October 9, 1995 | March 13, 1998 | Big Feats! Entertainment Releases from 1995-1996 were originally distributed by PolyGram Video. |
| 1996 | Sole non-children's video release by Lyrick Studios[6] [7] | ||
| Francesco's Friendly World | 1996 | February 25, 1998 | |
| Joe Scruggs | March 11, 1997 | ||
| VeggieTales | March 31, 1998 | June 6, 2001 | Mass-market distribution |
| Tall Tales & Legends | June 16, 1998 | October 10, 1998 | |
| Groundling Marsh | June 23, 1998 | September 8, 1998 | |
| October 12, 1999 (music) August 1, 2000 (video) | August 14, 2001 | US home video distributions | |
| Bob the Builder | May 22, 2001 | August 7, 2001 | |
| Kipper | June 5, 2001[8] | ||
| Name | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kids for Character | 1996 | Includes scenes from The Puzzle Place, Barney & Friends, The Magic School Bus, Lamb Chop's Play-Along, Gullah Gullah Island, and Babar |
| Kids for Character: Choices Count | 1997 | Includes scenes from Bananas in Pyjamas, The Big Comfy Couch, and Wishbone |
| Wishbone's Dog Days of the West | 1998 | Big Feats! Entertainment |
| Barney's Great Adventure | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment | |
| Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme | Originally released in 1990 |