Talking Tom & Friends (show)

Talking Tom & Friends (formerly known as Talking Tom and Friends until early 2021) is an animated television YouTube web series and sitcom created by Slovenian media company Outfit7 and based on the successful media franchise of the same name. It follows the many adventures of Talking Tom and his friends Ben, Angela, Ginger and Hank. Initially a YouTube web series, its incredible success has brought the show to TV stations and streaming services around the world by 2016. Season 1 contains 52 episodes, each being 11 minutes long, while later seasons have 26 episodes each. The show's first episode was released on December 23rd, 2014, and its most recent episode released on December 24th, 2021.

History
On October 7th, 2013, Outfit7 announced that they have hired American animator Joe Ansolabehere to create a 52 x 11-minute CGI comedy TV series based on the Talking Tom franchise, under the name "Tom on the Road." The series was to star Tom, Ben, Angela, and Ginger, and was to premiere by the end of 2014. On March 3rd, 2014, Kidscreen Magazine announced that the series would go by the name of "Talking Tom and Friends," and instead be produced by BRB International's creative studio Screen 21.

The pilot episode officially released on December 23, 2014, as a CGI animated series which was produced by Austrian company arx anima, and introduced a new character named Hank.

On February 23, 2015, Outfit7 announced the full series was to premiere on April 30, 2015, with new episodes launching weekly. The first season ran from April 30, 2015 to December 22, 2016. It won Best Animated Series at the 2016 Cablefax Awards and so, on August 18, 2016, the show was greenlit for a second season with another 52 episodes, but the final product only had 26 episodes with the remaining episodes becoming Season 3. Season 2 aired from June 15, 2017 to March 8, 2018, Season 3 aired from May 10, 2018 to December 27, 2018, Season 4 aired from May 16, 2019 to March 27, 2020, and Season 5 aired from May 8, 2020 to December 24, 2021.

Since Season 4, the series was produced by Stefan Fjeldmark's animation studio, People Moving Pixels.

Synopsis
This series follows Talking Tom & his friends' everyday lives. Tom and his nerdy business partner, Ben, who constantly develops mobile apps and other inventions to reach fame and fortune and try to show off to the world, but it always backfires. His feisty girlfriend, Angela, tries to be a singing star, no matter what she does to achieve it. His cheeky neighbour, Ginger, pops by extremely frequently to mess around with mischief up his sleeve. His goofy best friend and roommate, Hank, is a couch potato who watches TV a lot and is a super fan of his favorite TV show: Bongo and McGillicuddy. And the formerly diss-driven popstar singer Becca Sparkles has become Angela's new roommate and her best friend and also seemingly has a crush on Hank. However, lurking in the shadows is trouble in all shapes and sizes, whether it's the evil CEO, the evil mad scientists Mel and Flo, Tom's mysterious new neighbour Roy the Rakoon, or just a mishap in Ben's newest creation, the gang will have fun no matter what, and always remember the one thing that keeps them together: friendship never ends!

Seasons

 * Season 1 (2014-2016)
 * Season 2 (2017-2018)
 * Season 3 (2018)
 * Season 4 (2019-2020)
 * Season 5 (2020-2021)

Main

 * Tom
 * Ben
 * Angela
 * Hank
 * Ginger

Recurring

 * Becca Sparkles
 * Roy Rakoon
 * Jeremy
 * Carl
 * Dr. Internet Doctor
 * Maurice Claremont
 * Darren
 * Ronnie Bergstedt
 * Rhonda
 * Landlord
 * Velma Vanthrax
 * Xenon
 * Mel
 * Flo
 * Wesley
 * Hipster

Main

 * Colin Hanks
 * James Adomian
 * Lisa Schwartz
 * Tom Kenny
 * Maria Bamford

Recurring

 * Dave Willis
 * Brian Stack
 * Robin Reed
 * George Back
 * Laraine Newman

Guest Stars

 * Dannah Feinglass Phirman
 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Josh Fadem
 * Suzi Barrett
 * Matt Gourley
 * Brandon Johnson
 * Greg Manwaring
 * Brian Huskey
 * Traci Stumpf
 * Paul F. Tompkins
 * Andy Kindler

Reception

 * Talking Tom & Friends won Best Animated Series at the 2016 Cablefax Awards. This announcement lead to the show being green lit Season 2 which premiered on June 15, 2017.

Trivia

 * Early on in the series, Talking Tom and Friends existed as a reality show within the fictional series. This is shown via the series' numerous fourth wall breaks including the times when the characters would speak to the camera in a room (usually in the bathroom), and was even acknowledged by Tom and the gang in the pilot. The sequence was entirely cut in the middle of Season 3, with fourth wall breaks becoming much rarer.
 * Most characters in the show were voiced by the main cast.
 * Many previous characters from the franchise (such as Pierre, Gina and the other friends) did not appear in the show.