By Michaela Gordoni
If you’ve seen BLIPPI on Netflix, you may not know that goofy guy in glasses was actually born from the brain of a YouTube content creator.
The YouTube series has had loads of success, with over 2 billion single views in January. There’s a handful of Netflix shows, too. Now, Netflix is partnering with Moonbug, the company behind COCOMELON, on a new, premium series: BLIPPI’S JOB SHOW, The Wrap reported April 8.
The 10-episode series premiered on April 7. It shows Blippi and his friend, Meekah, as they learn about jobs: truck drivers, pizza makers, astronauts, firefighters and more. It also features Blippi’s new Blippimobile, which Blippi drives around to each new jobsite.
The show boasts a large budget, and, unlike YouTube, the series is not available to watch for free. Content creator and original BLIPPI star Stevin John started the franchise in 2014. He later sold the franchise to Moonbug.
“We’re still obviously investing in Blippi as a core franchise that’s going to be on YouTube and other platforms, but what we’re doing with this show is trying to make something that’s going to be very specific and unique for the audience that we know Netflix has,” said Courtney Holt, Moonbug’s Managing Director in the Americas.
“We think that we’re going to fulfill a lot of great demand for kids and parents really looking for something magical and premium in the live-action space,” he said.
Licensed BLIPPI shows had 24.1 million views on Netflix in the latter half of last year. Holt says the partnership with Netflix was a natural alignment, as both companies stay on top of trends, jumping on them quickly.
BLIPPI’S JOB SHOW may not look meticulously planned out to the typical viewer, but Moonbug and Netflix analyzed lots of data to determine which jobs would be the best for BLIPPI to explore.
“We really want to do things that we know work for the character set, work for the platform and ultimately are going to give us the best expression of a show that’s going to work for the target audience, which is kids and their caregivers, because we want to make this show as impactful as possible,” Katzman said.
Part of Movieguide®’s review of BLIPPI’S JOB SHOW reads, “The first three episodes of BLIPPI’S JOB SHOW are colorful, interactive and fun. The episodes have a strong moral, pro-capitalist worldview. Blippi and Meekah spark curiosity about the various jobs. They are also kind and helpful to everyone they meet.”
“They also teach viewers the value of hard work and the idea that no job is too small. The first three episodes of BLIPPI’S JOB SHOW have no questionable elements,” it continues. “However, MOVIEGUIDE® recommends children aged two and under have no screen time, and preschoolers aged three to five should have extremely limited and monitored screen time.”
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