''Harriet the Spy'' is an American animated television series for

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

, loosely based on the book of the same name by

Louise Fitzhugh Louise Fitzhugh (October 5, 1928 – November 19, 1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, known best for the novel ''Harriet the Spy'' and its sequels, '' The Long Secret'' and ''Sport''. Biography Early life Fitzhugh ...

. The series premiered on November 19, 2021.

Cast and characters

Beanie Feldstein Elizabeth Greer "Beanie" Feldstein (born June 29, 1993) is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her starring roles in the comedy film '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising'' (2016), the comedy-drama film '' Lady Bird'' (2017), and the ...

as Harriet M. Welsch *

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

as Catherine Myrtle "Willa" Galliano ("Ole Golly") *

Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...

as Marion Hawthorne *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

as Janie Gibbs, Mrs. Gibbs (Janie's mom) *

Crispin Freeman Crispin Freeman is an American voice actor, voice director, and screenwriter who is best known for voicing characters in English-language dubs of Japanese anime, animation, and video games. Some of his prominent anime roles include Zelgadis Grayw ...

as Mr. Welsch (Harriet's dad) *

Grey Griffin Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

as Mrs. Welsch (Harriet's mom) * Bumper Robinson as Mr. Gibbs (Janie's dad) *

Charlie Schlatter Charles Thomas "Charlie" Schlatter (born May 1, 1966) is an American actor who has appeared in several films and television series. He is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Jesse Travis, the resident student of Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van ...

as Simon "Sport" Rocque

Production

In August 2020, it was announced that

had given a series order to an animated television adaptation of the novel ''

Harriet the Spy ''Harriet the Spy'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S., it ranked number 12 in the 50 Best Books fo ...

''. The series is produced by

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

and Rehab Entertainment with Will McRobb as writer, Sidney Clifton as producer and Terissa Kelton and

John W. Hyde John W. Hyde (born March 29, 1941, in Jackson, Michigan) is a veteran producer whose credits span feature film, television, and animation. Hyde is married to Kate Morris Hyde and lives in both Los Angeles and Badger, California. Biography Hyde ...

as executive producer. It would star

as Harriet,

as Ole Golly, and

as Marion Hawthorne. A trailer was released on October 12, 2021. 5 episodes aired on November 19, 2021, and 5 more aired on May 20, 2022.

Episodes

Reception

The series received a mixed reception. Ashley Moulton of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

described the series as a "so-so TV adaptation of classic kid sleuth story." She also said that Harriet "was never meant to be a role model" but has some qualities which are admirable and pointed to a "fair amount of consumerism", arguing that the "charm of the book" doesn't quite translate to the series, and that those into "sleuth stories" should read the original instead.

References

External links

''Harriet the Spy''
at

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

''Harriet the Spy''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

2020s American animated television series 2021 American television series debuts American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series Apple TV+ original programming English-language television shows Television series by The Jim Henson Company Animated television series about children Animated series based on novels Television shows based on American novels Television series set in the 1960s Television series set in 1964 Television shows set in New York City Apple TV+ children's programming {{Animation-tv-prog-stub