Big Kids

Big Kids is a children's comedy television series consisting of 13 episodes. It was created by Lucy Daniel-Raby and produced as a British-American co-production between the BBC and the American network Noggin. The show first aired on CBBC on BBC One on 27 September 2000, followed by its debut on the Noggin channel on 29 January 2001. All 13 episodes were also broadcast on Nickelodeon, Noggin's sister channel, from 9 to 30 March 2001.

The series focuses on the Spiller family: parents Sarah, a piano teacher, and Geoff, a doctor, along with their children Simon and Kate. At a school charity event, a hypnotist named Ming the Mind Master uses Sarah and Geoff in his act. Afterward, Kate and Simon realize their parents were never properly brought out of hypnosis. At random moments, the parents black out and start behaving like children. The siblings must manage their parents during these episodes, convince them of what happens, and figure out what triggers the change. Simon tries to hide the situation from his best friend Jake, who lives across the street and often shows up at bad times. While hypnotized, Sarah and Geoff do things they would normally forbid their children from doing, forcing Kate and Simon to act maturely. Noggin described the show as exploring the complex, often chaotic relationship between parents and children.

Eventually, the children prove the hypnosis by showing their parents video footage. They discover the trigger is the word "ming" or any word containing it, echoing the hypnotist's name. They track down Ming at a fête and convince him to reverse the hypnosis, which seems to work. However, their parents' childish behavior on a carousel leaves it unclear whether they are acting deliberately or have slipped back into a trance.

The show's developer, Elaine Sperber, noted that the writers had to be careful to make the content work for both UK and U.S. audiences. She said they had a good relationship with Noggin but faced issues with British accents and language, avoiding terms like "snogging" because American viewers wouldn't understand them. Kidscreen magazine reported that a scene showing alcohol at a school dance had to be toned down because children in Britain start drinking much earlier than in North America.

On Noggin, the series aired as part of a primetime block called "The Hubbub," where viewers could submit comments via the Noggin website that appeared live on-air. Noggin combined the final two episodes into an hour-long special that aired on 25 March 2001. Leading up to it, Noggin reran a marathon of the entire series, promoted as the Big Kids Big Marathon. From April 2002 to January 2004, Noggin aired reruns of Big Kids during its overnight block, The N.

The cast includes Duncan Duff as Dr. Geoffrey "Geoff" Spiller, Imogen Stubbs as Sarah Spiller, Matt Adams as Simon Spiller, Kelly Salmon as Kate Spiller, Sam Green as Jake Tyler, Jasper Britton as Ming the Mind Master, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes as Becky, and Barnaby Francis as Edward Bagley.

At the 23rd Young Artist Awards in April 2002 in Studio City, California, both Matt Adams and Kelly Salmon received nominations for their roles. The series was counted as an American production for the ceremony, and the nominations were accepted on behalf of Noggin.