'Mr. Bean' Animated Series Revived Again For Fourth Season
Aaaaaand most unexpected revival goes tooooo?
They say it’s all Bean done, but now they see fit to do more. Mr. Bean: The Animated Series is being brought back for a fourth season to commemorate the franchise’s 35th anniversary in 2025.
This new season will actually consist of at least a sixth series, as what’s considered season 1 is comprised of the first three series, which encompasses the original 2002 to 2004 run. The subsequent initial revivals in 2015 and 2019 are considered seasons 2 and 3. Encompassing 130 episodes, season 4 will bring another 52 11-minute segments, increasing the total to 182. While there’s no announced American home, it will air on ITVX Kids in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Cartoonito and HBO Max across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and on Warner Bros. Discovery’s kids channels and streaming services across Southeast Asia and South Asia. Banijay’s Tiger Aspect Kids & Family ordered the series in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and ITVX, through an agreement with Banijay Rights. Produced by Tiger Aspect Kids & Family, the crew features managing director Tom Beattie who is also an executive producer. Dave Osborne is director, Arnold Widdowson is producer and Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Barnett Jones are the head writers.
The iconic British character has been played by Rowan Atkinson since his 1990 debut, after Atkinson created him with Richard Curtis. The character would appear in just 15 live action episodes until 1995, and two feature films: 1997’s Bean and 2007’s Mr. Bean’s Holiday, with various standalone appearances over the years. The animated series sees Mr. Bean and Teddy embark on many adventures, leaving behind a trail of mischief. Atkinson in particular seems rather fond of not only this version but the whole of animation, saying: “I have always enjoyed this iteration of the Mr. Bean character and the particular freedoms he has in animated form. We can take him into space or down a tin mine, without me personally having to suffer the consequences. The animation process creatively is always fascinating and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the new series very much.”
Beattie added: “It’s a real pleasure to have the opportunity to go back to such a special series. Mr. Bean is an iconic comedy legend and it’s an honor to work with Rowan to create this physically funny series.” While the franchise can often seem to ebb and flow in activity, and its popularity might seem forgotten in America, the brand's social media presence is quite impressive, with 140 million+ likes/followers on Facebook, 72 million subscribers on official YouTube channels that have amassed 19 billion lifetime views; and 10 million followers on Instagram.
Source: Variety