Netflix has announced a handful of children’s programs coming to the platform, including a reboot of the famous Teletubbies . The creatures will be in the catalog in November.
Teletubbies were aired for nine seasons over 19 years, first from 1997 to 2001 and then from 2015 to 2018. The series, originally created for the BBC, focused on four different colored characters known as Teletubbies, each of whom had a TV screen on the tummy and a unique antenna on the head. The characters were modeled on young children and the program was aimed at them.
During its heyday, the series won numerous BAFTAs and was nominated for two Emmys . It also gave birth to a best-selling album and generated approximately $ 2 billion in sales of brand-related merchandise.
The reboot narrator will be Tituss Burgess. You can see the official poster below:
The official Netflix “Teletubbies” poster
Despite their immense popularity, Teletubbies caused great controversy in the United States. In 1999, a TV evangelist stated that Tinky Winky – a purple Teletubby who carried a bag that some thought resembled a woman’s handbag – was a “gay role model.” Religious and conservative voices have complained that the show has made the show worse for children as a result.
The BBC released an official response explaining that:
Tinky Winky is just a cute tech kid with a magic bag.
Kenn Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment, one of the production studios involved in the show, later said:
He’s not gay. He’s not straight. He’s just a character from a children’s show.
Will Netflix also cause controversy? Time will tell. For now, we can only look at the official description:
Join your colorful friends on wondrous adventures as they learn and grow up in this refreshed preschool series narrated by Emmy-nominated Tituss Burgess.