Wishbone
A Jack Russell terrier named Wishbone daydreams his way into classic literature, acting out the great stories in costume from a small Texas town. PBS's live-action oddity aired from 1995 to 1997, won a Peabody and multiple Emmys — and stopped anyway, reportedly because a literature-loving dog lacked merchandising potential.
On October 8, 1995, PBS launched Wishbone, a live-action series centered on a Jack Russell terrier who daydreamed himself into the lead roles of classic literature. Created by Rick Duffield and produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, the show was filmed around Texas — Allen, Plano, and Grapevine — starring a dog named Soccer, with Larry Brantley providing Wishbone's voice. The premise was pure ingenuity: let a dog inhabit the great stories, introduce kids to narratives they were supposed to absorb eventually, and make it weirdly entertaining in the process. The theme song — "What's the Story, Wishbone?" — became a cultural earworm for anyone who grew up in the mid-90s.
The show landed with critics and with its target audience of kids roughly 6–11 years old. It racked up serious hardware: a Peabody Award in 1998 and multiple Emmy wins. For two seasons, from October 1995 through December 1997, Wishbone aired 50 episodes of a small terrier in costume acting out the classics through pure charisma. It felt like the kind of show that would spin off into toys, lunch boxes, and cartoon franchises. Except it didn't.
PBS halted production after 50 episodes, reportedly because the show lacked merchandising potential — a bewildering decision for something that had earned both critical acclaim and genuine audience affection. Wishbone faded from the schedule, though never from memory, at least for anyone who watched it. A film adaptation was announced by Universal and Mattel in 2020, and a feature documentary titled "What's the Story, Wishbone?" arrived in 2026 — a belated acknowledgment of what had been lost. By then, people were asking: how did this ever go away?
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