The show was announced by Peyo Productions in 2017.[22] The next year, its European broadcasters were announced: Ketnet (Flanders),[23]TF1 (France), KiKA (Germany),[24] and La Trois (Wallonia). In 2020, it was reported that the broadcast rights had been picked up by the American entertainment brand Nickelodeon for several of its channels,[25] but the airing agreement does not extend to the original 1980s Smurfs series (which continues to be distributed by Warner Bros. in North America).
The series is almost entirely produced in Belgium, with 75% of the animation completed at Dupuis' DreamWall animation studio in the city of Charleroi.[2] Its CGI animation style is mainly based on the film Smurfs: The Lost Village but is an unrelated production.
After 18 months on pay-TV, The Smurfs is now available to stream on Netflix in the United States.[26] The series made its world premiere in 18 April 2021, on the La Trois channel in Belgium.[2]
A second season was announced in February 2022, premiering worldwide on July 18, 2022 in the United States.[27][19] In Belgium, it premiered on August 29, 2022 on OUFtivi. In France, it premiered on October 5, 2022 on TFOU.[28]
A third season was announced in October 2023, set to premiere worldwide in 2024.[29]
Broadcast
It originally premiered in Belgium on April 18, 2021 on La Trois (the RTBF channel), during the OUFtivi programming block.[30] The series premiered on Ketnet in Dutch on October 29, 2021.
In Switzerland, the series premiered on April 25, 2021 on RTS Un, during the RTS Kids programming block.
In France, the series premiered on May 9, 2021 on the TFOU programming block on TF1,[31] later premiered on Nickelodeon France on January 2, 2023.[32][33]
And in Québec from August 28, 2021 in Télé-Québec, under the title Les Schtroumpfs 3D.[34][35]
In the United States, the series debuted on Nickelodeon on September 10, 2021.[36]
In Germany, the series premiered on KiKa on April 16, 2022.[37][24]
In Canada the show premiered on February 19, 2022 on Family Chrgd before it rebranded on March 1, 2023 into WildBrainTV.
In Latin America, the series first premiered on streaming Paramount+ on November 1, 2021,[39] then the series premiered on Nickelodeon on November 26, 2021 as an exclusive preview until it officially premiered on February 5, 2022.[40]
The Indonesian-dubbed version currently airs on RTV since May 2022.[41] The Bengali-dubbed version of the series debuted on Duronto TV in Bangladesh on October 30, 2022.[42]
Reception
Common Sense Media gave the show 2 out of 5 stars and the disclaimer: "Reboot of '80s show focuses on pratfalls, not clever plots."[43]
