Season 2 of ‘Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock’ was shot in Calgary Achi-News

The second season of the reboot Fraggle Rock franchise premieres March 29 on AppleTV +.

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock season 2 was filmed inside the Calgary Film Centre.

During Global News Calgary’s exclusive tour of the set, we got to see a fragile world, canyons and ravines come to life in real time.

John Tartaglia is a writer and executive producer on the show. He is also the puppet captain and plays a number of characters, including Gobo fraggle and Sprocket the dog.

He felt the pressure to deliver on season 2, after a very successful season one that received a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and awards from the Directors Guild of Canada, Canadian Cinema Editors Awards, PGA Awards and Family Kids Awards and an Emmy.

“It’s the beautiful show that we love and the fans still love, but we’ve upped the stakes a little bit,” Tartaglia said.

The original Jim Hensen Fraggle Rock the series debuted in 1983 and was filmed in Toronto.

Both seasons of the rebooted franchise were filmed in Calgary.

Tartaglia says it is so important to come back to Canada.

“There’s something about the heart of the show that has always had a Canadian feel to it, and I think that’s very important to capture here.”

Calgary crews were also used throughout the production, including prop master Kesar Lacroix, who had to create all the vehicles and technology for the stupid characters in season 2.

“Everyone in our department has grown up with them Fraggle Rock, period. It’s part of our childhood, and we all became prop makers and prop builders and prop technologists on set to hopefully have a shot at doing a show like this, and we’ve had the best time in do it.”

This latest series is another part of the belt for Calgary’s film and television industry, which continues to grow and grab the attention of Hollywood.

The Calgary Film Commission says between 2021 and 2023, $1.2 billion was spent on production, nearly 15,000 jobs were created and more than 750,000 square feet of studio and production space was built. He has big plans for 2024, including building a website to recruit, train and retain talent.

Jordan Lockhart, puppeteer and voice of Wembley Fraggle, grew up in Ottawa. He believes Canada is gaining a foothold on the market.

“Things have come a long way since I was in high school, dreaming of being in film and television.

“There is incredible talent here in Canada.

“Toronto and Vancouver are mentioned as the hubs, but having been here now for two seasons in Calgary, I’m so impressed with the crews out here.”

Karen Prell has been the puppeteer and voice of Red fraggle since the original Fraggle Rock series more than four decades ago. She loves seeing star power like Ariana DeBose, Brett Goldstein, Adam Lambert and Catherine O’Hara team up for guest appearances in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock season 2.

She also says that outside of the cold and snow, Calgary is a magical place.

“I love Calgary. It is beautiful. I love the people here, I love the scenery. I love running along the river. I have made several trips to Banff.”

As for what to expect in the latest Fraggle Rock series, executive producer and writer Alex Cuthbertson says they are keeping Hensen, the original creator, in their thoughts.

“We knew we wanted to stay with the elements of the Earth because that felt so connected to it Fraggle Rock. So, we decided that wind was a really cool way to explore the season. We used wind as a metaphor to talk about change which is scary and exciting.”

“It’s a topic of hope. It makes hope cool again,” Tartaglia said. “This family of characters can speak to a new generation of children and hopefully make the world a better place.”

You can watch Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock season 2 on AppleTV+ begins March 29, 2024.

& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.