Cards›Culture

Mr. Bean

British comedy television series (1990–1995)

Mr. Bean is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and Robin Driscoll; the pilot episode was co-written by Ben Elton. The series originally aired on ITV, beginning with the pilot episode on 1 January 1990 and ending with "The Best Bits of Mr. Bean" on 15 December 1995. Based on a character developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at the University of Oxford, the series centres on Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body", as he solves various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causes disruption in the process. The series has been influenced by physical comedy actors such as Jacques Tati and those from early silent films. During its original five-year run, Mr. Bean was met with widespread acclaim and attracted large television audiences. The series was viewed by 18.74 million viewers for the episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean" and has received a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or. The series has since been sold in 245 territories worldwide. It has inspired an animated spin-off and two theatrical feature-length films, along with Atkinson reprising the titular role for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, television commercials, and several sketches for Comic Relief. The programme carries strong appeal in hundreds of territories worldwide because, in addition to the acclaim from its original run, it uses very little intelligible dialogue, making it accessible to people who know little or no English.