Some of the sweetest characters of the 1980s are continuing to find their way back home.
Across toys, animation and pop culture, the characters that once filled childhood bedrooms, television screens and toy boxes have been finding new audiences while reconnecting with the generations who first loved them. This fall, one particularly sweet childhood icon is returning with a new series that looks considerably closer to the Strawberry Shortcake many longtime fans remember.
WildBrain has announced that “Strawberry Shortcake’s Bake Shop,” an all-new CG-animated series, will premiere October 16 on the official Strawberry Shortcake YouTube channel. The series will kick off with a two-episode premiere before continuing to roll out its 26-episode first season over the following year.
This time around, Strawberry Shortcake is heading back to her roots.
Her signature bonnet is back. Her curly red hair is back. Custard is by her side, and perhaps most wonderfully nostalgic of all, Strawberry is once again living inside her iconic strawberry-shaped home.
Yet this isn’t simply a recreation of the Strawberry Shortcake world fans knew decades ago. “Bake Shop” takes those familiar pieces and reimagines them through a colorful CG world designed to introduce Berryville to today’s kids.
At the center of the new series is Strawberry’s neighborhood bakery, where her Berry Besties are constantly stopping by. Sometimes they are customers, other times they are lending a hand, and occasionally they are simply there for a snack and whatever fun might unfold that day.
Whether Strawberry is baking inside her kitchen, spending time with friends in her upstairs apartment or hosting a garden party outside, the series is leaning heavily into the cozy sense of community that has followed the character throughout her history.
That makes returning to the aesthetics of the original era especially fitting.
Strawberry Shortcake first became a childhood icon during the 1980s, building an entire world around colorful characters, recognizable scents, friendship and a rather impressive amount of fruit-themed everything. More than four decades later, there are now parents who grew up with Strawberry themselves getting the chance to introduce that world to their own kids.
“Strawberry Shortcake’s Bake Shop” appears designed to bridge those generations rather than choosing between them. The visual callbacks give longtime fans something instantly familiar, while the refreshed animation and short-form storytelling create a Strawberry Shortcake built for the way younger audiences experience entertainment today.
The series will consist of 26 three-minute episodes aimed primarily at kids ages 4-8. There will also be eight new original songs scattered throughout the season, giving Strawberry and her friends another way to bring a little extra sweetness into Berryville.
For WildBrain, the series represents another chapter in continuing to build Strawberry Shortcake across entertainment, consumer products and live experiences. For families, though, there is something considerably simpler and perhaps more charming about seeing an old childhood friend return looking a little more like herself again.
The bonnet, Custard and strawberry house are back.
Now all that’s missing is something fresh out of the oven.
“Strawberry Shortcake’s Bake Shop” premieres with two episodes October 16 on the official Strawberry Shortcake channel on YouTube, with additional episodes rolling out over the following year.