Smurfs Return to TV with CGI Reboot on NickJr

The Smurfs are returning to television with a new CGI-animated series debuting on NickJr on October 8, 2021 at 8 PM. The channel is available on Sky channel 603 in Italy. The original series first aired on NBC on September 12, 1981, becoming a global phenomenon. Created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford (Peyo), the blue characters have starred in nine animated series and inspired several films: The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017), and The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (2013). The new series is a colorful reboot with faster pacing and livelier dialogue, focusing on characters like Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Grumpy Smurf, Vanity Smurf, and Inventor Smurf as they protect their forest village from Gargamel and his cat Azrael. The show is part of Nickelodeon's strategy to expand its preschool content, joining SpongeBob SquarePants, The Patrick Star Show, Kamp Koral, PAW Patrol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Blue's Clues & You!, Star Trek: Prodigy, and a Transformers co-production.