Roy (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series is filmed as a mockumentary and is based on the short film Badly Drawn Roy, commissioned by the Irish Film Board, RTÉ, and the Arts Council of Ireland. The series was commissioned by CBBC and produced with funding from RTÉ and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Roy's character animation is hand drawn in Flash, with compositing and effects produced in Adobe After Effects.

A second season aired in early 2012 and won the 2012 Children's BAFTA Drama Award. Filming for a third and fourth season began in January 2013; the third season aired from 23 January 2014, and the fourth from 20 January 2015. Two spin-off series were announced: Little Roy (2016–2017), commissioned by BBC, and The Roy Files, which aired on RTÉ and was produced by JAM Media, focusing on Roy O'Brien's life as Ireland's only cartoon boy in the real world.

Reader's Guide

Roy holds significance as an innovative children's series that blended live-action and animation in a mockumentary format, a rare approach at the time. Its success is marked by a Children's BAFTA Drama Award for its second season, highlighting its quality and appeal. The series expanded into a franchise with two spin-offs, Little Roy and The Roy Files, extending its reach on CBBC and CBeebies. The show's production by JAM Media and funding from Irish broadcast authorities underscore its role in supporting Irish animation. Its legacy includes demonstrating how hybrid animation techniques could be used for relatable, school-based storytelling, and it remains a notable example of Irish children's television from the late 2000s and early 2010s.