Emmy-winning show produced in Clinton Township studio

By Heidi Roman
C & G Staff Writer

The children’s TV show “My Bedbugs,” created and produced in Clinton Township, is quickly gaining popularity.

The show debuted on WTVS, Detroit Public TV, in 2004 and has since won numerous awards. “My Bedbugs” is now broadcast in more than 100 million homes coast to coast and in Canada.

The show was created by husband and wife duo Alex Greene and Carol Sweeney, who came up with the idea while putting their three children to bed one night. Of all the children’s programming available, Greene said, none help kids and parents with the most basic tasks in life, like getting ready for bed.

“We try to teach the whole child,” Greene said. “My Bedbugs” touches on things like eating habits, manners and oral hygiene, and some shows include lessons about dinosaurs and the solar system.

“We try to make it as educational as possible,” Greene said.

Sweeney is the show’s head writer and draws from her own experience as a mother to develop storylines. The couple’s children, now 13 and 11, provide creative input and offer ideas. The main characters, Toofy, Woozy and Gooby, are modeled after the kids and bear the same nicknames.

The show is entirely produced in Clinton Township at Greenestuff Inc., the production company founded by Greene and Sweeney. The Greenestuff studio is located on Groesbeck, south of Hall Road, and includes a sound and editing room, live set and a green screen. Every stage of the filming and editing process is done in studio by local professionals. All of the elaborate sets, costumes and props are made right there.

“We’re like this tiny kept secret,” Greene said. “I wanted to (produce) it here, and prove that we could do it here.”

During filming, there are just over 50 employees at the studio. “My Bedbugs” films for about eight months out of the year, producing 13 half-hour shows divided into 15-minute segments. Filming for the next season begins in January.

The show airs on Detroit’s WTVS Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. For a complete list of air times and networks that carry the program, visit www.mybedbugs.com.

Among the show’s many awards are 11 Emmy awards and 13 Telly awards. The program has been awarded the National Parenting Seal of Approval, the iParenting Media Award, the Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award and the Dove Family Foundation Seal of Approval.

“My Bedbugs” also has a line of merchandise, including plush toys, interactive toys, a sing-along CD and DVDs, available online at www.mybedbugstoys.com. 

You can reach Staff Writer Heidi Roman at hroman@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5006.