The first official trailer for the new Teletubbies revival is here. Coming to Netflix in November, the updated Teletubbies brings all four colorful, fuzzy friends from the original series back for more adventures, this time joined by new narrator Tituss Burgess. The series debuts on November 14, but you can watch the trailer below to see the first footage of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po returning, courtesy of Netflix Jr. on Youtube.
From Netflix, the official logline for the new Teletubbies is as follows:
Join colorful friends Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po on wondrous adventures as they learn and grow in this 21st-century revamp of the beloved preschool series, now narrated by Emmy nominee Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) . Each episode features new, original “Tummy Tales” songs that the whole family will dance to!
Julia Pulo can also be seen on the series as the host of “Tummy Tales”, while Rachelle Beinart, Rebecca Hyland, Nick Chee Ping Kellington and Jeremiah Krage are the performers in the costumes. Andrew Davenport co-created and serves as writer of the new Teletubbies. It is executive produced by Kate Bennetts, Maddy Darrall, Steven DeNure, Billy Macqueen and Michael Towner, while “Tummy Tales” is executive produced by Stephanie Betts, Anne Loi and Josh Scherba.
The Teletubbies are back in action on Netflix
Teletubbies originally ran from 1997 to 2001 and had a previous revival that lasted from 2015 to 2018. A total of nine seasons and 485 episodes were released prior to this new take on the show from Netflix. The series follows a group of fuzzy, colorful characters with unique antennae who communicate with toddler-like babbling, all under the watchful eye of a baby-faced sun. With sales of approximately $2 billion since launch, Teletubbies The brand remains popular with many of today’s kids thanks to reruns, and Netflix hopes to capitalize on this with the addition of the show to its growing lineup of children’s programming.
In the late nineties, Teletubbies had made headlines when televangelist Jerry Falwell accused the show’s creators of promoting homosexuality with the Tinky Winky character. According to Falwell, it was suggested that Tinky Winky was gay because his antenna was shaped like a triangle, which represented the gay pride symbol, and that he was carrying a handbag. This claim was joked in pop culture for a while, though the BBC denied in an official statement that there was any sort of hidden agenda, noting that Tinky Winky was “just a sweet, tech baby with a magic bag.”
Teletubbies will premiere for streaming on Netflix on November 14, 2022. The series will consist of 26 12-minute episodes.