We covered annoying children’s TV shows the other day, but now it’s time to talk about one of the best TV shows ever created for children: Bluey. Bluey is the story of a 6-year-old Blue Heeler puppy named Bluey, her little sister Bingo, and her parents, Bandit and Chilli. In it’s own silly, realistic, and heartwarming way, the show tackles a variety of real-life issues ranging from the daily mundane, like making breakfast, to heavier topics, like mortality and miscarriage (Season 2’s “The Show”), and everything in between. It’s a really great show that has something for both kids and adults.
This week, 10 new episodes from Season 3 of Bluey dropped on Disney+. Season 3 is supposed to have a total of 50 episodes. 39 are now streaming in America, with the remaining 11 reportedly due out by the end of the year. Our household discovered Bluey in early 2020 and it was something we all enjoyed watching together during those first months of the pandemic. I know we are not alone in loving this show as a family. I mean, how many of us have kids who have played intense games of Keepy Uppy?! We are literally going on 3.5 years of Keepy Uppy at this point.
While kids’ programs like Blippi and Caillou tend to drive parents up the wall, many have a soft spot for Bluey. Speaking to Yahoo Life last fall, Melanie Zanetti, the Australian voice actress who plays Heeler matriarch Chilli, shared how one friend described it as “the only show that doesn’t make me want to bleed out my eyes when I have to watch it for the hundred-thousandth time.” Zanetti attributes the show’s “universal” appeal to both its uniquely Australian charm and its playful spirit. While mom Chilli certainly holds her own, Bandit the dad (voiced by musician Dave McCormack) has emerged as a fan favorite and fictional parenting icon thanks to his enthusiasm for playing with his kids, creating inventive games and being hands-on at home.
“Bandit did get a lot of kudos because he was a dad who was playing with his kids and using his imagination,” said Zanetti. “We see less of that from men in media. And a lot of young dads I’ve talked to have said, ‘I feel so grateful that there was a depiction of a dad just not being a bumbling fool.’ In my age group, dads want to be good dads; they want to be there for their kids. It’s a generation where there were a lot of fathers who weren’t there or they don’t have a strong emotional connection to them because they didn’t have that closeness. And I think millennials and Gen Zs particularly really want be those [more involved] parents.”
In an interview with Yahoo Life last August, Bluey executive producer and Ludo Studio co-founder Daley Pearson also noted that both Bandit and Chilli represent a “new generation of parents” who come across as more relatable and “human.” (Case in point: One Season 3 episode in which Bluey and Chilli appear to be confronting the age-old struggle of parenting while nursing a New Year’s hangover.)
“We often get messages from people saying that it’s like the makers of Bluey have put a camera in their homes as it’s so relatable to their family life,” Sam Moor, a producer and production manager on the show, told USA Today.
They’re also capable of apologizing to their kids when necessary, acknowledging their flaws and admitting when they don’t have all the answers (or the patience to play another game of Keepy-Uppy). At the same time, their playfulness is infectious.Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder who shares daughter Olympia with wife Serena Williams, is among the parents who “get inspired” by the Heeler family, he recently told Yahoo Life’s So Mini Ways. “We’ll dress up the house, with these homemade signs, to be like a metro station [like in] an episode with trains,” he shared. “We’ll use rolling chairs to be the ‘trains,’ and I push them.”
As of right now, my family and I have only watched five of the new episodes, but I’m sure we’ll have finished all 10 by the time this post is published. The episodes we’ve seen so far are on par with the rest of the series. One of the episodes alludes to a character struggling with infertility and my 9-year-old and I spoke about what that meant afterward. I think for me, the biggest appeal of Bluey is that every single episode says so much in just 7 minutes, without the cheesy gimmicks that children’s shows usually employ, like annoying songs or ridiculous, over-the-top characters. Every character is awesome and relatable.
And just to throw it out there, because I’m always down to converse about Bluey eps, my favorite ones are “Sleepytime,” “Camping,” “Daddy Dropoff,” “Flatpack,” “Baby Race,” and “Pass the Parcel.”
Pretty sure my niece has watched all of the just dropped bluey episodes. She and her mom love it. I like it okay but still kind of find it annoying. Think I’m just being contrary though. It’s v sweet. My niece gets up and dances for the opening intro music every time. Otherwise, we’re watching paw patrol bubble guppies and rescue riders.
I ❤️ Bluey…and Rosie’s Rules…and I don’t have kids😝
Ha! I’m reading this post while my kid is upstairs watching Bluey. He has been watching it a lot lately so he must have discovered that there are new episodes. It is a really cute show and not annoying at all.
My grandson and his parents love this show. I have watched and episode or two and enjoyed it myself.
We just started watching Bluey last week (I have a 9yo with insomnia) and I really love it. I adore Bandit’s parenting, the healthy relationship and the conflict resolution it uses. The dialogue alone is just so good and often hilarious. I’m a fan.
My favorites are “Grannies” (“nice parking spot, Rita!”); “Takeaway” (as a kind of bottle episode), “Sleepytime” (I cry so hard!), “Duck Cake” (“how do animals without tails know when they’re happy?”), “Camping” (how they show Bluey communicating across a language difference = incredible), and “Curry Quest” (that swooping bird! the way they say “peshwari naan!”). “Dance Mode” is amazing at the end, with the Yes/No button. My kid’s favorites are “Pool,” “Bingo,” and “Sticky Gecko.” He’s been watching “Sleepover” once a day ever since he started transitioning out of his afternoon nap. You can really see him thinking through his little-kid problems as he watches them. All the tiny dramas and hurt feelings register as very real for him.
I haven’t seen the ones that allude to the miscarriage. I really want to but am afraid I’ll cry like a baby! The kid likes to rewatch the ones he’s already seen, so we only see a “new” episode a few times a week.
I love “Camping” so much and cry at the end every stinkin time, “Sleepytime”, “Bin Night”, “Barky Boats”, “Rain”, “fairytale” because I relate to Bandit in this one, are some of my favs. With rain, sleepy time, and camping it’s also the music that plays such a big part in me turning into a puddle and sobbing. My 10 year old son will be caught watching it by himself. It’s such a good show and I don’t know if it’s because it’s Australian or just good writing but the way they talk just seems more respectful to each other than many American kids shows. I’m glad there are so many episodes because we used to love Puffin Rock on Netflix which has a similar feel imo, and also isn’t American and they cancelled it after only two season. I just wished they would’ve released all of season 3 because my kids came home from camp the day they came out and immediately got through them all they were so excited lol.
The little “Hello Bluey” gets me every time. Honestly, same with Baby Race. “She must have seen something she really wanted” makes me teary-eyed, without fail.
Yes, the music is fantastic! My husband’s favorite is “Bin Night.” It’s so clever structurally.
My husband cries at the end of “Camping” all of the time! He asked me why I didn’t add “Grannies” to the list after he read this. Honestly, I had forgotten about it! It’s such a great episode. And UPDATE: my kids watched the rest of the season without me! I’ll catch up when they rewatch it, but both really like “Turtle Boy” and “Stories” so far.
I live in Australia and I am so chuffed by how much Bluey is loved in other countries! We love it in my house. I have toddlers and we watch repeats all the time, and when new episodes are out we all sit in front of the TV and watch it together as a family. It’s just so good and so relatable. So many of the episodes leave me bawling my eyes out.. like the end of Grandad.. oh god that one gets me every time.
“That was a long time ago.”
“No, it was yesterday”.
When I tell you I bawled my eyes out…
We love Bluey. It’s just great kids TV. When mine were younger there was Bing and we still say some of the catchphrases to this day.
The episode “Rain” is also fabulous. So much is expressed about childhood and parenthood without any words.
Mount Mumandad is another great episode. My son is ten and our whole family loves Bluey. Whenever he’s sick he always gravitates towards more soothing, younger demographic shows. That is how we discovered Bluey a few years ago. I highly recommend it for all ages. It’s so relatable.
Throwing my almost 3 year old a Bluey party next month. I love the show as much as my kids. It might be hard for someone who has never watched to believe it, but there are some very touching moments on this children’s show. It’s adorable and very well done.
My boys are a bit older now (7 & 9) and we too found Bluey during the pandemic and still eagerly watched the new episodes. “Pavlova” is a favourite as we randomly speak French in our house and use silly phrases since the boys don’t speak it much yet. The show is smart, witty and real which is why it’s just so damn lovely. It’s just a nice comfort watch for when you need a hug from reality.
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Yes! “Pavlova!” My younger son was so obsessed with the French in that episode so we had my friend, who is a French teacher, send him voice memos to practice the pronunciations. They sent them back and forth. It was so cute.
My family loves it. My best friend had Disney when I didn’t, and when we visited in 2020 the first thing she did was sit me down and have me watch a few. I cried I laughed so hard at the one where they go to the movies. My kids were 4 and 6 at the time and it was so perfect. They’re 9 and 7 now and we all sat down to watch the new episodes when they came out. My boomer dad loves it, and he generally has no patience for kids shows. He thinks Bandit is the best dad on tv.
I also legitimately think that Kate’s big initiative would be better if it was a website that linked to different Bluey and Daniel Tiger episodes with discussions of the parenting skills highlighted in the episode, and the kids developmental stage.
I often catch my 15 year old watching Bluey in their room.
It’s well loved in this house!
Unicorse is 10000000% my favorite episode of Bluey. I quote it all the time, my son and I have matching “aaaaand why should I care?!” t-shirts and I have a tank top of “one of you karate chopped my client!”
Sadly, my son is getting a little to old and cool for Bluey but luckily my nephew is discovering the show. It’s just the best, I could watch it all day long.
We have a two year old and discovered Bluey through a coworker a couple of months ago and my husband and I love it as much as our daughter does. My favorites episodes usually involve Muffin, like “Sleepover” or “Faceytalk”. My hubby can relate to Bandit and finds him hilarious.
Big fans here too! Bandit and Chili have legit made me and my husband better parents. The one I remember crying at was when Bandit was teaching the kids chess. Firstly it was so refreshing to see fictional kids acting exactly like my kids in that scenario and then at the end when Chili is recognizing that Bandit was trying to prepare their kids for the world. I’m getting verklempt thinking about it now!
Also we played pass the parcel at my daughter’s 8th bday party (not Lucky’s dad’s rules)!
“Chest” is one of my husband’s favorites. He taught my older son and some of our neighborhood kids to play chess last year, so it makes him smile.
We’ve watched from the beginning. It helped us get through the pandemic!
It’s one of the best shoes on TV – period (IMO).
It can pack a punch if it catches you at the wrong time. I sat and sobbed at Sleepytime recently because my oldest is going to college this fall (“mommy, I’m a big girl now….”).
My little one (8) just thinks it’s funny and thinks I’m silly when I cry.
We love Bluey! Another favorite is Sarah & Duck. My husband and I probably love that show more than our kids do. So beautiful, creative, and mellow! More kids shows that I enjoy hearing in the background, please! Besides Bluey and Sarah & Duck, we only watch PBS Kids app on our tv, I notice a big difference in my kids behavior when they watch certain shows vs others so we keep it to mellow and/or educational.
Hammerbarn, Fruit Bat, and Ice Cream will get my attention every. single. time. (Like, stop channel surfing just to watch.) Plus, the music in any episode is great–not cutesy or annoying, and often of a classical bent. Good stuff.
I don’t have children and my husband and I LOVE Bluey. The humor is wonderful and plays on so many levels. I have cried my eyes out at quite a few of them. The artwork is gorgeous. Some of my favorite episodes “Sandwich Shop”, “Grandad” (cried my eyes out), “Grannies , and “Camping” was so beautiful.
I love this! We were Zooming with some friends around New Year’s and mentioned Bluey. Around Memorial Day, we were talking with one of them and he told us that he ended up watching the entire series out of curiosity and loved it.
We love Bluey! Haven’t watched the new episodes yet, can’t wait. Rosie and other commenters have called out great episodes. I’ll add that I love whenever Muffin shows up – she’s so unhinged in the best way. Faceytalk! 🙂
This is my kids favorite show. 😊
We absolutely adore Bluey in our house! I’ll find myself watching it even after the kids have left the room. I first discovered it when I was having a lot of anxiety about my son being a very late walker. My sister told me to watch Baby Race and I bawled my eyes out. Got our kids watching it the next day and hooked ever since. My husband acts just like Bandit even before he saw Bluey and it’s so fun seeing a dad on tv who is silly and involved.
My daughter’s favorite episode is Camping and she gets so excited when she hears the music. I love Hammerbarn, Sleepytime, Grandad, Takeaway, and the one where Muffin misses her nap and she’s like your drunk friend after a long night out (I forget the name of that one!)
The new episode Cricket is so Australian and may be the best episode of TV I’ve ever seen. Lots of love for Bluey in our house.
Fun fact: Lin-Manuel Miranda made a beeline for the Bluey studios when he visited Australia.
I don’t have kids so the only two I’ve watched out of curiosity for the unique Aussie sporting perspective are Cricket and The Decider. They were both incredibly well done and really moving, I’ve rewatched them both a number of times!
Bluey is such a good show. One of the many things I really appreciate is that the female characters aren’t drawn with eyelashes like every other darn cartoon does. It’s obnoxious because it implies it’s not only very important to always distinguish everyone into two gender categories but also that girls must always have makeup on to look their best.
OMG! No kids or grandkids, but I watched a few trailers then I watched a full episode, S1 E3, Keepy Uppy. I LOVED THAT SHOW!!