Video Interview: BAFTA-Winning ‘Wishbone' Writer Stephanie Simpson

If you’re a child of the 90s, you surely have fond memories of “Wishbone,” the PBS series about a group of schoolchildren and their dog, the eponymous Jack Russell Terrier with a large imagination. Each half-hour episode had the kids in one situation, while Wishbone himself would star in an adaptation of a classic story with themes relevant to the situation at hand. “The Prince and the Pauper,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and “The Three Musketeers” are just a few of the stories that were adapted over the course of two seasons and fifty episodes (plus a made-for-Showtime finale movie, “Wishbone’s Dog Days of the West”)

Nearly three decades after the show ended, and 25 years after the passing of the show’s canine star, Soccer the dog, “Wishbone” is back in the form of a documentary, “What’s the Story, Wishbone?” The film features interviews with many of the people who worked on the original show, and is directed by Joey Stewart, a veteran of the classic series.

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I had the opportunity to chat with Stephanie Simpson about her work on the film and the original show. When she was brought on to write “Wishbone,” she had no experience with television writing, but she did what the best of us do when thrown into a situation where we can’t help but be in over our heads: she figured it out. And figure it out she did, as she would eventually become the head writer on “Arthur,” the animated series based on the line of children’s books by Marc Brown. Her work on that show would win her a BAFTA, and she credits her career to the veritable film school that was the classic “Wishbone” series.

You can watch the entirety of our chat below. As for the film itself, “What’s the Story, Wishbone?” can be viewed on various Public Television Stations before making its debut on digital platforms on June 10, 2026.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 10:39 AM.