Radical Sheep Productions was a Canadian television production company that was owned by Boat Rocker Media and known for producing series including The Next Step, Stella and Sam, and The Big Comfy Couch, the latter a Gemini Award-winning series for preschoolers which produced seven seasons and aired for over ten years on YTV and Treehouse TV in Canada and public television stations in the United States.
Among its early work, Radical Sheep made puppets used in the early 1990s educational video series The Adventures of Ruffus & Andy, which marked early appearances of Ruffus the Dog. Founded in 1985 by Robert Mills, the company also once housed the Sheep Shop, which provided puppet construction and design services until 2002 when it closed its doors and Mills stepped aside from running the company. As president, John Leitch managed the business of Radical Sheep, acting as executive producer for all of Radical Sheep's productions and also overseeing the management and sales of Radical Sheep's properties, both domestic and foreign.
On March 31, 2016, Radical Sheep was acquired by Boat Rocker Media. Two years later in 2018, the company was folded into Boat Rocker Studios.
Filmography Title Creator(s) Year(s) Co-production with Network 1990s The Adventures of Ruffus & Andy 1990–1992 Credit Valley Hospital Direct-to-video Ali Baa Baa's Toy Box (pilot) 1991 Unaired The Big Comfy Couch Cheryl Wagner 1993–2006 Owl Television (1993–1994)Owl Communications (1994–1995)Tadpole Kids (2002)Amity Entertainment (2006) YTV (1993–1996)Treehouse TV (2002–2006)PBS (1995–2006) Ruffus the Dog Robert Mills 1998–1999 Hunky Dorey Entertainment YTV Panda Bear Daycare Cheryl WagnerKaren ValleauRobert Mills 1998 Araneo Belgium YTV Amigo & Me Cheryl WagnerRobert Mills 1999–2000 CBC 2000sJust for Laughs GagsPierre GirardJacques Chevalier2000Just for LaughsTVACBCThe Comedy NetworkTVOntario (Canada) Land O' Hands Robert Mills 2001 Treehouse Puppets Who Kill John Pattison 2002–2006 PWK Productions The Comedy Network 2010s Stella and Sam Marie-Louise Gay 2010–2014 Bejuba! EntertainmentMercury Filmworks Family Channel Yup Yups Matthew Fernandes 2013 Industrial Brothers Araneo Family Jr. The Next Step Frank Van Keeken 2013–2025 Temple Street ProductionsBoat Rocker Studios Family Channel (2013–2019)CBC Gem (2020)YTV (2022–2025) Fangbone! Simon RacioppaRichard Elliott 2014–2017 Mercury Filmworks (episode 1)Pipeline Studios (episodes 2–26)DHX Media (episodes 2–26) Family Chrgd (Canada)Disney XD (U.S.)Netflix (online) Tee and Mo Dominic Minns 2014–2019 Plug-In MediaZodiak KidsKeyframe AnimationSerious Lunch CBeebies (UK)TVOKids (Canada) The Bagel and Becky Show Dave Cooper 2016–2017 Jam Filled Toronto Teletoon Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate Sheena Macrae 2017–2019 Keyframe AnimationMickey Rogers Media CBC KidsUniversal Kids
Puppet characters Spirit of the Forest Alligator Pie (1991) (television special) Canadian Sesame Street Polka Dot Shorts Noddy Zoboomafoo (1999–2001) The Longhouse Tales
Commercials Petro-Canada Zellers Sleep-Eze D Robaxacet Concerned Children's Advertisers (1993)
References
External links
Ruffus the Dog website Ruffus Christmas Carol website Robert Mills website