Content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment revealed another milestone for the globally-loved "Mr Bean" – surpassing 35M subscribers on its main YouTube channel – as the brand marks 35 years on-air. In addition, "Mr Bean: The Animated Series" has extended its UK presence with the recent launch of the latest series on ITV2 this month, following its premiere earlier this year in the UK on ITVX and Boomerang.
Rowan Atkinson says: “You have to evolve and keep the changes coming to maintain relevance. I quite like the fact we’ve taken Mr Bean from the theatre, where he started in the 1970’s, to live-action, films, animation and now YouTube! Generations enjoy the character equally – he's a child trapped in a man's body, and that’s always fun to watch.”
Cast your mind back...the year is 1990. The Hubble Space Telescope launches. Nelson Mandela is released from prison. East and West Germany are officially reunified. Madonna’s Vogue tops the charts. And Mr Bean lands on British screens. Immortalised by the comedic genius of Rowan Atkinson, "Mr Bean" premiered on ITV on 1 January 1990, watched by 13.45M viewers. Co-created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, in the 35 years since, it has been in continual distribution, broadcast in 200+ territories. The original live-action series delivered some of the most iconic comedy moments of all time, and in addition to two successful feature films in 1997 and 2007, in 2002 it was successfully reimagined in animation form. Now, in 2025, "Mr Bean" is an internet sensation, accumulating nearly a quarter of a billion subscribers across social media platforms.
The fourth season of "Mr Bean: The Animated Series" premiered earlier this year in the UK on ITVX and Boomerang, and globally on Warner Bros. Discovery’s kids' channels and streaming services through deals agreed by Banijay Rights. It is produced by Tiger Aspect Kids & Family (part of Banijay Kids & Family) and executive produced by Tom Beattie and Rowan Atkinson, who also provides the voice. Banijay Kids & Family represents the worldwide licensing and merchandising rights for the Mr Bean brand.
"Mr Bean" remains one of the most recognizable comedy characters in the world, despite only 14 live-action episodes ever being produced. The franchise’s animated adaptation, however, boasts 182 episodes and counting. Across social media, "Mr Bean" commands nearly 250 million subscribers, including 35 million on the main YouTube channel, 75 million across 19 dedicated YouTube channels, 148 million Facebook followers—making it the fourth largest page globally—10 million Instagram followers, and 11.5 million on TikTok. The brand has achieved over 130 syndications of both its animated and live-action FAST channels and has spawned two feature films, “Bean: The Movie” and “Mr Bean’s Holiday.” The character’s theme tune, composed by Howard Goodall, begins with the Latin phrase “Ecce homo qui est faba,” meaning “Behold the man who is a bean.” Goodall also composed the music for all iterations of the series and the films. Mr Bean’s origins trace back to a 1979 sketch at the Oxford Playhouse, and he even appeared as a contestant in “Blind Date” for a 1993 Comic Relief special. Amusingly, according to his passport, his first name is “Mr,” and early drafts considered names like Mr Cauliflower and Mr White. The character’s cultural reach is vast, inspiring street art from Kochi to Penang, and even a paddy field portrait in China made from different rice varieties. Several of the iconic Minis used in the series were filmed on set, with one now on display at the National Motor Museum.