New 'Shaun the Sheep' Series Lands At Netflix

It's easy enough now to forget that stop-motion superstar Shaun The Sheep began life as a Wallace and Gromit spin-off. Since first appearing in the Oscar-nominated short A Close Shave, the wooly wonder has gone on to arguably eclipse Aardman's most iconic duo in fame. Starring in his own successful TV series (which had a spin-off of its own, Timmy Time), two theatrical outings and a special and even getting a theme park, he's won the hearts of the world.

Fresh from the release of the second movie Farmageddon, a new season of the TV series has been announced. However, in a surprising departure from tradition, the series won't be airing on the BBC (like past seasons), but has been sold to Netflix.

The UK's biggest animation studio has been getting increasingly cosy with the leading streaming service of late. Last year it was announced that their next Christmas special would be exclusive to Netflix, and Farmageddon skipped out on cinemas in the Americas, where it's a Netflix exclusive.

It's not hard to see what would make a deal attractive for Aardman. Netflix famously offers creative freedom and large budgets- which in an age where the public broadcaster BBC is dealing with deep cuts at the hands of an openly hostile government, must seem very appealing.

Following the success of the movies, the new series features "more cinematic production values" and "more dramatic storylines", according to series producer Tom Parkinson, "with these new episodes you’re almost getting 20 mini movies!"

Shaun the Sheep: Adventures from Mossy Bottom will be available on Netflix on March 17,  in the UK, US, Canada and Pan-Latin America. It'll launch in Spain, Turkey, Poland, Israel and UAE a day earlier on March 16. The series will air on traditional broadcasters in countries inclduing France, The Netherlands,  Sweden and Japan.

This is also the first Aardman production to be awarded the Albert certification for " reducing its carbon ‘hoofprint’"

Shaun will also star in a new seasonal special A Winter’s Tale from Shaun the Sheep, which will air Christmas 2021 in the UK on BBC One and in the US and elsewhere on Netflix.

Watch the trailer for Adventures From Mossy Bottom, below!