Smurfs Reboot - What We Know So Far

Some exciting news out of Smurf Village this week as it was revealed that a television reboot of "The Smurfs" is coming to Nickelodeon, per TVLine. News of the rebooted series emerged in June 2020, with outlets including Entertainment Weekly confirming Nickelodeon had already given "The Smurfs" reboot a series order. 

Since their introduction via Belgian comics in the late 1950s, "The Smurfs" have gone on to appear in a variety of movies, television shows, and even video games. For American audiences of a certain age, the first exposure to this tiny community of blue creatures occurred through "The Smurfs" TV show, which debuted in 1981 and ran through 1989 (via IMDb). 30 years after the premiere of the English-language show, the franchise expanded into feature-length films with the release of "The Smurfs," a hybrid live-action-animated movie starring Neil Patrick Harris and featuring voice performances from Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Fred Armisen, Hank Azaria, and Anton Yelchin. Two more feature films were released, with "The Smurfs 2" arriving in 2013 and a fully animated reboot, "Smurfs: The Lost Village," debuting in 2017.

Films are great and all, but the home territory of "The Smurfs" is clearly the small screen. The TV reboot is long overdue. Here's everything we know so far about "The Smurfs," including the release date, cast, plot, and trailer.

Thankfully, TVLine's report on "The Smurfs" teaser trailer release includes information about the show's release date. 

According to the outlet, "The Smurfs" reboot will premiere on Nickelodeon on Friday, September 10. Additionally, it's been announced that the new animated show will air at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (via Business Wire). Audiences can expect each episode of "The Smurfs" to have a 30-minute runtime, which is a fairly standard length for an episode of animated television. 

It's unclear how many episodes will be included in the first season. Similarly unclear is whether "The Smurfs" Nickelodeon reboot will be heading to a streaming service following its debut. Currently, Nickelodeon shows are available to stream on Paramount+, so it's possible "The Smurfs" reboot will appear on the platform either the day after its premiere (which is similar to Hulu's release strategy with FX shows) or after the season finale. 

Thanks to Business Wire, we know which actors will be voicing the main characters of "The Smurfs" reboot. 

According to the news outlet, the "Smurfs" voice cast includes: "David Freeman ('7 Promises') as Papa Smurf, the father figure keeping the other Smurfs in line; Bérangère McNeese ('Matriochkas') as Smurfette, a curious Smurf who is always ready to take part in new adventures; Lenny Mark Irons ('No Man's Land') as Gargamel, a conniving human wizard with a bottomless thirst to capture Smurfs; Youssef El Kaoukibi ('NRJ Belgium') as Brainy, who considers himself the smartest of the bunch; and Catherine Hershey ('Boundary Games') as Willow, the brave and wise matriarch of a new tribe of girl Smurfs."

The aforementioned voice cast appears to be predominantly international, which should equate to some exciting voice performances from actors American audiences aren't too familiar with. It's unclear if any U.S. actors will be appearing in cameo roles in the series, so keep your ears open for a potentially familiar voice to come through. Fingers crossed it's NPH.

Per Business Wire, "The Smurfs" reboot will present viewers with the same Smurfs we know and love, including Smurfette, Papa Smurf, and Brainy Smurf, but in an entirely new story. The plot "follows Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Hefty, Clumsy and the other inhabitants of Smurf Village on all-new adventures, packed with humor, heart and high-stakes action."

Details around the first two episodes have also been revealed. The first episode will be titled "Smurf-Fu" and it apparently follows Smurfette's heroic rescue of her fellow smurf from some kind of monstrous snake. Smurf-Fu is likely some kind of tiny martial art that Smurfette must smurfing master so she can tackle the slithering threat. 

The second episode bears the intriguing title of "Diaper Daddy" and follows the entire Smurf Village community as they grow tired of changing Baby Smurf's diapers, which leads to Handy Smurf inventing a creative solution to get the job done. If there was any question about whether the Nickelodeon show will be squarely aimed at a much younger demographic than the folks who grew up with the 1981 TV show, then hopefully the synopses of these first two episodes help put all speculation to rest. This is TV-Y7 through and through.

Included in TVLine's report on "The Smurfs" reboot was the first teaser trailer for the Nickelodeon show. 

The teaser trailer is true to its name, clocking in at a mere 30 seconds in length. It quickly introduces prospective viewers to the cast of characters, including fan favorites like Papa Smurf and Smurfette. We not only get a closer look at the gorgeously animated series, which will definitely benefit from its CG animation style, but we also get a preview of events from premiere episode, "Smurf-Fu." 

We also get our first look at Willow, a new Smurf character who is part of an all-girl tribe of Smurfs (via ET Canada). It will be exciting to see Willow and her friends join the Smurf Village community (a majority male community, might we add) and liven things up. Overall, the teaser trailer promises a kid-friendly reboot that will help usher in a new generation of viewers more than 40 years after the first English-language "Smurfs" show hit the airwaves.