Too Many Cooks Creator Buddy Casper Kelly Returns With New Project

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If you grew up in the early to mid 1990s, either you or someone in your household probably watched Barney & Friends. That children’s show phenomenon featured a talking purple T.rex teaching life lessons to small children. For me, it was my younger brother tuning in on a daily basis. Even from a distance, the “I Love You” song and the “Clean Up” song bored holes into my brain. While I have plenty of nostalgia for 1990s media, that singing dinosaur usually fills me with scorn. Every once in a while, those two songs pop back into my head, despite the fact that I have not heard either of them for over 30 years.

That profound distaste for Barney is precisely why I am excited for an upcoming horror movie coming out in three weeks.

What is Buddy?

Buddy is a new horror movie from Casper Kelly, creator of Adult Swim’s Too Many Cooks. The story follows a group of kids stuck in a Barney-like children’s show from the 1990s. Standing in for Barney is Buddy, an orange unicorn with a heart on his chest. While Buddy appears to be a harmless kiddie show mascot, he eventually reveals himself as a living nightmare.

Details about the project remain scant. However, two released teaser trailers suggest the story involves someone in the present day, played by Cristin Milioti, looking into the 1990s series It’s Buddy after all records of it disappear. The teasers also feature a bloodied Buddy wielding an ax alongside terrified children. Both trailers utilize a scratchy, VHS-like quality to lean into the 1990s aesthetic.

Who stars in Buddy?

A kids show mascot unicorn named Buddy hugs children, text that reads "It's Buddy" is in front of the group

Along with Milioti, Buddy stars Topher Grace as her husband. Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt, and Clint Howard appear as various other children’s characters. Keegan-Michael Key plays Buddy himself, likely bringing some comedic heft to the comedy slasher film.

Who is Casper Kelly?

Besides the viral phenomenon Too Many Cooks, Casper Kelly created the Adult Swim shows Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell and Stroker & Hoop. He also wrote for Squidbillies, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Buddy marks his feature film debut, though he previously directed a segment in the 2025 horror anthology film V/H/S/Halloween. Kelly co-wrote Buddy with Jamie King of Jessica Jones.