Beat Bugs

Beat Bugs is an animated children's television series, created by Josh Wakely, and produced for Netflix by Grace: A Storytelling Company and Thunderbird Entertainment since 2016. The series is centred around five young anthropomorphised insects who live in an overgrown suburban backyard and learn life lessons while having adventures. Wakely acquired worldwide rights from Sony/ATV Music Publishing to a catalogue of music by the Beatles to feature in the series. The program features versions of songs by the popular rock group, performed by contemporary recording artists and interwoven into the narrative. Beat Bugs was produced in association with Beyond Entertainment, Atomic Cartoons and the Seven Network, an investor of the program. The series was first made available worldwide on Netflix on 3 August 2016 after premiering in Australia exclusively on 7TWO on 25 July 2016. It also airs on the CBC Kids programing block of CBC. The program received an AWGIE Award in animation for an episode script in 2016, an AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series and a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017. The second season premiered in November 2016 on Netflix and 7TWO, and was followed by a 48-minute special in November 2017. Additional episodes entered pre-production in 2018. A staged production featuring the characters and themes of the show, Beat Bugs: A Musical Adventure, began playing in theaters in the U.S. in October 2018. Plot Beat Bugs is a series for children between the ages of 5 and 7, set in an overgrown suburban backyard, which serves as an environment that 5 young bug friends regularly explore. To the bugs, the backyard is known as "Village Green". Songs by the Beatles, such as "Come Together" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", are interwoven into the narrative of the episodes. 1 episode, "Come and Get It" features a song that was originally recorded by the band, Badfinger, albeit written by the Beatle Paul McCartney and published under the Beatles' Apple Records label. These versions are performed by popular recording artists such as Pink and Sia. The songs often influence the life lessons that the young bugs learn.