BBC Children’s Commissions More Numberblocks

BBC Children’s has commissioned a 15-episode eighth season of Numberblocks, which will feature an expanded curriculum with more advanced mathematical concepts.

“With every new series of Numberblocks, our goal is to find the story and comedy in a new area of maths,” said Adam Shaw, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio. “We want to make abstract concepts tangible, visible and fun for our young audience. This season, we’re tackling big ideas like measurement and data, but we’re doing it through rescue missions, detective mysteries and team challenges.”

The new episodes will delve into more complex, curriculum-led topics, including perimeter, area, capacity and data handling. They will also introduce key math skills such as “bridging the ten,” adding and subtracting two-digit numbers and understanding parts of 50 and 100. This builds on the core educational framework from series creator Joe Elliot and the Alphablocks team.

Season eight will also feature a classic film noir-style episode, in which Detective One returns to help a frantic Number Three solve the case of her missing button. By tracking her movements and reading various clocks and watches along the way, the episode embeds the concept of measuring and telling time within a genre-led narrative.

“The film noir episode is a perfect example of how we can push our creative boundaries to serve the educational core of the show,” Shaw noted. “It’s about showing children that maths isn’t just in the classroom; it’s everywhere, and it’s an exciting tool for solving problems.”

“Our creative process always starts with the maths,” added Ruth Cassidy, editorial director and creative lead of Alphablocks. “We ask ourselves, ‘What is the story within this calculation?’ or ‘What’s the adventure in learning about capacity?’ This [season] has been about translating those key early years concepts into tangible, character-driven narratives that a child can delight in. Seeing Detective One use the principles of time-telling to crack a case is a perfect example of how we fuse rigorous educational thinking with unforgettable storytelling.”

Numberblocks season eight will premiere on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer this fall.