The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants

Did You Know?

• The series also aired in the UK on CITV.
• On January 9, 2026, the entire series was removed from Netflix and moved to Peacock the same day.

Premise

The series follows George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two best friends and pranksters who create comic books. They attend Jerome Horwitz Elementary School under the strict principal Mr. Krupp. Due to a previous hypnosis, Krupp transforms into the comic book hero Captain Underpants when he hears fingers snapping, and reverts when water hits his face; neither personality knows of the other. Most episodes involve a teacher or ordinary person becoming a monster from George and Harold's comics through contrived coincidences. A cyborg future version of their nemesis Melvin takes over the school to get his younger self into Eliteanati Academy. The third season takes place at a summer camp run by the Federation of United National Camps, with Mr. Krupp as the camp instructor. The fourth season sends George and Harold into space, where Melvin is captured by the Biglyans.

Production

Dav Pilkey first sought to adapt Captain Underpants into a television series in April 2000, having imagined Chris Farley in the title role before Farley's death. Soup2Nuts later attempted to produce an animated series based on the books. On December 12, 2017, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television announced an animated series following the feature film, originally titled Captain Underpants and the Epic Tales of George and Harold. Peter Hastings served as executive producer. The first season premiered on July 13, 2018, with a second season announced for February 8, 2019, and a third for July 19, 2019. A six-episode fourth season was announced for July 10, 2020. In October 2019, a Halloween special titled The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants: Hack-a-Ween was released, followed by an interactive special in February 2020 and a Christmas special in December 2020. In 2023, Hastings confirmed no further seasons were planned, with the next franchise installment being the 2025 film Dog Man.