Shaun the Sheep

Shaun made his debut in 1995 in the Wallace & Gromit film A Close Shave.⁠[1]

Series 1 of Shaun the Sheep premiered on BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry One in 2007, and the TV adventures have since been shown in 170 territories.⁠[2]

Timmy Time, a spin-off starring Timmy, the littlest lamb in Shaun’s flock, premiered on CBeebies in April 2009; the original series of 78 ten-minute episodes has no dialogue, is broadcast in over 150 territories, and won the BAFTA Children’s Award for Best Pre-School Animation in 2010 and 2013. A further spin-off, Learning Time with Timmy, was co-created with the British Council.⁠[3]

Shaun the Sheep Limited was incorporated on November 2, 2012, registered care of Aardman Animations at Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, and is classified as a dormant company.⁠[4]

Aardman Shaun the Sheep Limited, incorporated the same day, is registered for motion picture production and artistic creation.⁠[5]

Shaun the Sheep Movie opened first in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on February 5, 2015, with LionsgateLionsgateLionsgate (Lionsgate Studios Corp.) is a film and television content company that listed on the New York Stock Exchange after separating from the STARZ business in 2025.Open the full entry distributing in North America; its original release grossed about $106.2 million worldwide, about $86.8 million of it outside North America.⁠[6]

The film received a 2016 Academy Award nomination for best animated feature.⁠[7]

On October 31, 2016, Aardman Mossy Bottom Limited was incorporated, registered for motion picture production and artistic creation.⁠[8]

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon opened first in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on September 26, 2019; its original release took about $43.1 million internationally across 42 markets, with no North American gross listed.⁠[9]

Both features were released in partnership with STUDIOCANAL; Farmageddon won Best Effects at the 2019 BIFA Awards and Best Longform Animation at the 2020 British Animation Awards.⁠[7]

Farmageddon was nominated for Animated Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021, credited to Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley.⁠[10]

The 2021 half-hour special Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas went on to win an Emmy, and series 6 won an International Kids Emmy.⁠[11]

On March 27, 2024, Aardman announced a 20-episode seventh series, to be made at its Bristol studio for release in 2025 and including the show’s first two-part episode.⁠[11]

In May 2024 Aardman launched the free streaming channel Shaun the Sheep & Friends in the United States, starting on Xumo Play, featuring Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit, Timmy Time and Morph among others.⁠[12]

On May 6, 2025, the third film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, was announced as in production for release in 2026, as a Sky Original in the UK and distributed by STUDIOCANAL in other territories; the year also marked 30 years since Shaun’s first screen appearance.⁠[13]

Series 7 premiered at 3.30pm on May 24, 2025, with the double episode Shirleyverse on CBBC, BBC One and BBC iPlayer, where all 20 episodes became available that day; episodes then aired on CBBC at 7am on weekdays from May 26.⁠[14]

It was announced on June 17, 2025, that Circa Contemporary Circus’s Shaun the Sheep circus show would have its UK premiere at Aviva Studios, Manchester, from December 11, 2025, to January 4, 2026; it had opened in Brisbane before touring Australia and playing a season in Singapore.⁠[15]

On October 28, 2025, Aardman, British Wool, Campaign for Wool and Craft Forward held an event for Shaun’s 30th anniversary at The Mills Fabrica in London, the finale of the Can Ewe Knit It? initiative, where volunteers stitched hundreds of fans’ knitted squares into blankets for unhoused people in London.⁠[16]

A first look released on October 31, 2025, showed the new film’s story: after the Farmer wrecks the Flock’s pumpkin patch, Shaun turns mad scientist to fix it, things spiral out of control, the Farmer goes missing and a beast roams the woods of Mossingham.⁠[17]

The credits of The Beast of Mossy Bottom list Nick ParkNick ParkNick Park (Nicholas Wulstan Park) is a British stop-motion animation director, a director of Aardman Animations, and the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. He has won four Academy Awards, for Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.Open the full entry as executive producer and for the characters, with Alison Snowden and David Fine credited as co-devisers of the characters.⁠[18]

GKIDS distributes the film in the United States, with digital, Blu-ray and DVD editions.⁠[19]

On June 21, 2026, Aardman and the BBC announced Let’s Go Timmy!, a 30 x 5-minute series set in Mossy Bottom for 3- to 5-year-olds, due on the BBC in 2027 and directed by Merlin Crossingham and Daniel Binns; it extends the Mossy Bottom franchise of Timmy Time and Shaun the Sheep.⁠[20]

The second trailer, released on June 24, 2026, confirmed that The Beast of Mossy Bottom, directed by Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, would open in UK and US cinemas on September 18, 2026.⁠[21]

Guest voices announced on August 20, 2026, included Nina Sosanya, Paul Whitehouse, Roman Kemp and Dani Dyer, with Justin Fletcher returning as Shaun and Timmy; the end credits feature a Rizzle Kicks remix of the theme tune Life’s A Treat.⁠[22]

The show spans seven series and 190 seven-minute episodes; Aardman cites more than 6 million Facebook fans, 10 billion YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry views, and awards including a 2010 BAFTA Children’s Award and International Emmy.⁠[2]

Shaun has also appeared in commercials, live shows and computer games, and there is a Shaun the Sheep Land in Sweden and a Shaun-themed café in Japan.⁠[1]

Shaun the Sheep: Official website: https://www.shaunthesheep.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[23]