Pablo (TV series)

Did You Know?

• Pablo won Best Preschool Programme at the 2019 Broadcast Awards.
• It was nominated at the 2018 British Academy Children's Awards in Digital.
• Andrew Brenner won Best Writer for Preschool Animation at the 2021 Irish Animation Awards.

Format

A typical episode begins in the real world, where Pablo engages in an activity. When he encounters a problem, the episode transitions into an animated "art world" made of his drawings. There, Pablo and the Book Animals work together to solve the issue. The spin-off, Pablo: Next Level, will send an eight-year-old Pablo to primary school, where he faces new challenges with the Book Animals.

Characters

Pablo James, played by William and Oliver Burns in live action and voiced by Jake Williamson, is an autistic boy who is non-verbal in the real world but talks in the Art World. Mouse, voiced by Rachael Dickson, is a reliable mouse who speaks in the third person and hates loud sounds. Noa, voiced by Tony Finnegan, is a sensitive Noasaurus who stims by hand-flapping. Tang, voiced by Michael White, is a goofy orangutan who struggles with social cues. Wren, voiced by Sumita Majumdar, is a gentle wren who soothes others with her singing. Llama, voiced by Rosie King, skips as physical stimming and has echolalia. Draff, voiced by Scott Mulligan, is an intelligent giraffe who infodumps and uses the phrase "in point of fact." Pablo's Mum, played by Rosie Barry, appears in live-action segments and supports her son.

Episodes

Starting with "The New Sofa" on 7 October 2019, all week's Pablo episodes were made available on BBC iPlayer before their individual broadcast. From "Finger Prince" onward, episodes went to iPlayer only after broadcast. Online shorts were produced in 2019, including Going to School and Making Friends. In 2020, an episode-length special was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spin-off books

In April 2020, Ladybird began publishing picture books adapted from Pablo episodes, overseen by Sumita Majumdar and Andrew Brenner. Titles include Goodnight Pablo, Pablo and the Noisy Party, Pablo Picks His Shoes, Pablo's Feelings, Pablo Goes Shopping, and Pablo at the Zoo.