Jim Henson may be forever associated with Kermit the Frog, Sesame Street and the Muppets, but some of his most extraordinary work ventured into much darker territory. The Storyteller was one of those projects — a visually rich television series that brought centuries-old European folk and fairy tales to life with puppetry, live actors and just enough darkness to remind viewers that traditional fairy tales were rarely meant to be completely comfortable.
The original series consisted of nine episodes, with John Hurt starring as the Storyteller. Sitting beside a fire with his wonderfully expressive talking dog, performed by Brian Henson, Hurt guided viewers through tales filled with kings, witches, giants, devils, enchanted creatures and ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances.
Rather than relying on the sanitized versions of fairy tales familiar to many modern audiences, The Storyteller drew inspiration from European folklore and traditional storytelling. Episodes included “Hans My Hedgehog,” “Fearnot,” “A Story Short,” “The Luck Child,” “The Soldier and Death,” “The True Bride,” “Sapsorrow,” “The Three Ravens” and “The Heartless Giant.”
Henson's Creature Shop helped give the stories their distinctive appearance. Elaborate creatures existed alongside human actors, creating a world that felt somewhere between a medieval illustration, a stage play and a dream. The practical effects remain a huge part of the show's charm decades later.
The series also attracted some remarkable performers. Along with John Hurt, actors appearing throughout the stories included Miranda Richardson, Sean Bean, Jane Horrocks and Jonathan Pryce. But despite the famous faces and extraordinary creatures, the storytelling itself remained the star.
What makes The Storyteller particularly fascinating today is how little it talked down to its audience. These stories could be funny and whimsical one moment and genuinely eerie the next. Death, greed, loyalty, love, courage and betrayal were all allowed into the room.
A four-episode follow-up, The Storyteller: Greek Myths, later continued the concept with Michael Gambon as the Storyteller, exploring tales from Greek mythology including Daedalus and Icarus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Perseus and the Gorgon, and Theseus and the Minotaur.
With only nine episodes in its original run, The Storyteller was remarkably short-lived. Yet it remains one of Jim Henson's most distinctive creations — a beautiful reminder that his imagination extended far beyond the Muppets.
Sometimes Henson wanted to make you laugh.
And sometimes he wanted to sit you beside a fire, lower the lights and tell you a very old story.
This is the entire 4 hour marathon of 9 episodes. If you'd rather watch one episode at a time you can find them on their YouTube channel or watch them in chunks below as they become available.
All Nine Episode Playlist
If you'd like it a little more broken down into manageable bits then these are in sets of three.
Episodes 1-3
Episodes 4-6
