Yes, the ‘Mensch on A Bench’ TV Special Is Coming

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By Maia Efrem September 25, 2015

Halloween is more than a month away but our minds are already on the upcoming festival of lights, Hanukkah.

Last year’s hottest Hanukkah toy, , was a runaway success after its founder, Neal Hoffman, first pitched it on “Shark Tank,” the ABC show where entrepreneurs invest their money in up-and-coming ventures. But we doubt anyone foresaw just how popular the plush toy called Moshe the mensch was going to be.

This year, Hoffman and his Mensch team are featuring new items for sale, including a mensch menorah and stuffed dreidel. But the biggest development is the newly signed deal with Pilgrim Studios to produce a TV special based on the “Mensch on a Bench” book.

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The head of the studio contacted Hoffman immediately after seeing the toy and offered to buy the rights right on the spot. “I actually said, ‘Whoa, slow down,’” Hoffman told Cincinnati’s Local 12 news. “It’s like you guys proposed and we didn’t go on a first date. ‘This is my baby, I’m protecting it.’”

The studio behind Kocktails with Khloe, David Tutera Celebrations, Ghost Hunters and Amazing America With Sarah Palin is reportedly shopping the special around to the different networks. So it’s only a matter of time before Moshe makes his way into our living rooms.

And if you’re missing Moshe after Hanukkah, don’t worry, you can bring him out at Passover as well.

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Maia Efrem is the former research editor and assistant to the editor and was also responsible for the Forward’s annual Salary Survey. Previously she served as the editor of Blognik Beat, a blog written by students who emigrated from or have ties to the Former Soviet Union. Maia is a graduate of Hunter College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

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