NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, TITUSS BURGESS AND ELLIE KEMPER TO STAR IN FORTHCOMING MO WILLEMS CHILDREN’S BOOK ADAPTIONS FOR PARAMOUNT+
Emmy®-Nominated Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Actors Tituss Burgess & Ellie Kemper to Voice “Elephant Gerald” & “Piggie”; Four-Time Emmy Winner Neil Patrick Harris to Voice “The Bus Driver” in “The Pigeon”
Beloved Characters Created by 50-time New York Times Best-Selling Children’s Author and Illustrator, Mo Willems, Come to Life on Paramount+ Next Year
April 16, 2026 – Paramount+ today announced that the Emmy
®-Nominated
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt stars,
Tituss Burgess and
Ellie Kemper, will reunite to voice “Elephant Gerald” and “Piggie”, respectively, in the
The Elephant & Piggie Show!, while four-time Emmy-winner Neil Patrick Harris is slated to voice “The Bus Driver” in
The Pigeon Show! Starring The Pigeon. Both titles are animated adaptations of Mo Willems’
New York Times best-selling children’s book series.
- The Elephant & Piggie Show! is a warm, comedic pre-K series about the hilarious and sometimes challenging work of "best-friending." The series takes place in the small, walkable neighborhood of Willemsburg, which is full of new locations audiences will love. Elephant Gerald is careful; his best friend Piggie is not. Gerald worries so that that Piggie does not have to and together, along with young audiences, they will celebrate the messy and joyful art of friendship.
- The Pigeon Show! Starring The Pigeon is about the day-to-day struggles of a pigeon who just wants to be listened to. He will be your best friend if you have a bus and you let him drive it. The series features familiar characters from Willems’ books, such as the adorable Duckling who always seems to get what she wants, plus new characters, like The Pigeon’s 150-million-year-old pterodactyl grandmother, Nana-Dactyl, and his best wing-pals, Ima Pigeon and Doug Pigeon.
- In December 2025, Paramount+ revealed it had greenlit the two animated adaptations of Willems’ acclaimed children’s books in an announcement celebrating its collaboration with the author’s multiplatform kids and family entertainment business, Hidden Pigeon Company.
- Mo Willems is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and illustrator. He’s been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions (for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity). Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. Willems’ celebrated Elephant & Piggie early reader series has been awarded two Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals (for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) and five Geisel Honors (for We Are in a Book!, I Broke My Trunk!, Let’s Go for a Drive!, A Big Guy Took My Ball!, and Waiting Is Not Easy!). Mo began his career as a writer on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy® Awards.
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| Credit: Nina Duncan |
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| Credit: Mark Veltman |
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| Credit: Andrew Eccles |
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