Sixteen years had elapsed since Phil Vischer wrote a VeggieTales episode, and he didn’t know how easily he could bring the characters back to life. But Vischer decided to try after the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) approached him last year and asked him to present Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and the rest of his botanic, Bible-teaching creations from the 1990s to a new generation.
“I started writing, and Larry walked through the door,” Vischer told me. “It was surprisingly easy for them to start talking to me again.”
Vischer, his wife, Lisa, and co-creator Mike Nawrocki put together 18 new VeggieTales episodes in partnership with TBN, Big Idea Content Group, and NBCUniversal. The VeggieTales Show is scheduled to premiere Oct. 22 with the same classic format, except this time Bob and his buddies are backstage at a theater, trying to come up with that night’s show.