Ellie Kemper, Neil Patrick Harris & Tituss Burgess to Voice Mo Willems Adaptations
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 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!, starring Tituss Burgess and Ellie Kemper, 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 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, starring Neil Patrick Harris, 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.
The Elephant & Piggie Show! and The Pigeon Show! Starring The Pigeon will deepen the kids & family offerings on Paramount+, joining the recently greenlit Garfield (working title) as well as library titles from Nickelodeon, including SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, The Loud House, and more.
