From “BeddyByes” to “Horrible Histories,” BBC Reveals a Big New Slate for Kids and Families

No two kids are exactly alike.

Some want an adventure. Others want to laugh. Some would happily spend their afternoon learning everything there is to know about animals, while younger viewers might just need something gentle to help them settle down before bedtime.

And some, apparently, want to see adults finally answer for their everyday crimes in a courtroom run by a dog.

Honestly, we understand.

BBC Children’s & Education has revealed a new slate of programming headed to CBBC, CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, bringing together returning favorites and completely new ideas across animation, comedy, music, learning and more.

We have already taken a closer look at one of the biggest new animated additions, “Hyperlight – Battle of the Guardians,” which will send two teenage girls into a futuristic battle involving superheroes, hackers and a parallel digital world.

But that is only one piece of what the BBC has planned for kids and families.

For anyone who has ever suffered an injustice at the hands of a parent, sibling or other suspicious grown-up, “Judge Hacker” might finally provide the justice you have been waiting for.

Hacker T Dog is breaking away from his “Blue Peter” duties to preside over his own courtroom in the new 15 x 4-minute comedy entertainment series. Performed by Phil Fletcher, Hacker will hear cases involving those everyday “crimes” that normally go unpunished, with Lorna Rose Treen and Toussaint Douglass serving as lawyers.

There will be gags, games, celebrity guests and, most importantly, punishments deemed suitably fitting by Judge Hacker himself.

We have absolutely no idea what qualifies this dog to practice law.

We also don’t particularly care.

Produced and distributed by DLT Entertainment UK Ltd, “Judge Hacker” will arrive on CBBC in early 2027.

The BBC is also heading back into the wonderfully disgusting pages of history with another season of “Horrible Histories.”

Season 12 will bring more themed episodes to CBBC and BBC iPlayer, including stories centered around the original Gladiators and history’s greatest Traitors. The series will also mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death with a special episode created in partnership with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The Saxons, French Revolution and Bonnie Prince Charlie are among the other subjects getting the “Horrible Histories” treatment, complete with the grisly stories, comedy and surprise celebrity appearances audiences have come to expect.

Things become considerably calmer when we head over to CBeebies.

“BeddyByes” has officially been commissioned for a second series, bringing MeMo and BaBa back for another collection of gentle adventures in spring 2027.

Created specifically to help young children move through the familiar evening and bedtime routine, the JAM Media series follows the pair as they encounter fantastical beings along their journey toward sleep. Along the way, the show incorporates ideas surrounding good nutrition, mindfulness and creativity while gradually helping its young audience wind down.

Sometimes an adventure doesn’t need to wake you up.

Sometimes it can help you get ready to sleep.

Music will also continue filling Higgledy-Piggledy as “Maddie & Triggs” returns for a second series of 52 seven-minute episodes.

Seven-year-old Maddie and her mischievous dog Triggs will head out on more magical and musical adventures, discovering new places, songs and special guests along the way. Siobhán McSweeney is among the guest voices joining the new series.

But one of the most interesting things about “Maddie & Triggs” continues to be how those adventures are presented.

Each episode is available both as an animated story and an audio-first podcast, allowing sighted and vision-impaired children to enjoy the adventures alongside one another. The first 26 episodes of the new series are expected to begin airing in mid-2027 on CBeebies.

Then there are the animals.

Lots and lots of animals.

Glasgow-based Maramedia is creating “Animal Allsorts,” a new 30 x 5-minute animated series based around imagery from the books of artist Owen Davey.

The series takes something many young children already love doing—collecting and sorting things—and applies it to the enormous variety found throughout the animal kingdom. Penguins, crocodiles, monkeys and plenty more will give young viewers opportunities to discover how animals can be grouped, compared and explored.

“Animal Allsorts” is currently expected to arrive on CBeebies in 2028.

Taken together, the slate is a rather nice reminder of just how broad children’s programming can be.

There are shows designed to get preschoolers ready for bed and others encouraging them to explore animals through patterns and sorting. “Maddie & Triggs” continues finding ways for more children to experience the same stories together, while older kids can laugh their way through history or finally drag the grown-ups in their lives before the honorable Judge Hacker T Dog.

Then “Hyperlight – Battle of the Guardians” sits at the older end of that spectrum with teenage heroes, digital worlds and superhero action.

Different ages. Different interests. Completely different ways of telling stories.

That variety is exactly what BBC Children’s & Education says it wants families to find across its programming, combining established favorites with new characters and ideas intended to entertain, inspire and connect with children as they grow.

And really, there might be only one question left.

How do we file a case with Judge Hacker?

Because we have a few grievances we’d like the court to hear.