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Thomas & Friends
Also known as	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!‍[1]
Genre	Children's television series
Created by	Britt Allcroft
Based on	The Railway Series by Wilbert Awdry Christopher Awdry
Developed by	Britt Allcroft
Directed by	Various David Mitton (series 1–7) Steve Asquith (series 8–12) Greg Tiernan (series 13–16) David Baas (series 17) Don Spencer (series 18) Dianna Basso (series 19–24) Joey So (series 23–24) Ian Cherry (series 24)
Voices of	Various
Narrated by	Ringo Starr[a] Michael Angelis[b] Mark Moraghan John Hasler[c]
Opening theme	Various "Thomas Theme (instrumental)" (1984–2003) "Engine Roll Call (version 1, instrumental)" (2004–2017) "Engine Roll Call (version 1)" (2007–2015) "Engine Roll Call (version 2)" (2015–2017) "Big World! Big Adventures!" (2018–2021)
Ending theme	Various "Thomas Theme (instrumental, reprise)" (1984–2003) "Engine Roll Call (version 1)" (2004–2015) "Engine Roll Call (version 2)" (2015–2017) "Big World! Big Adventures! (reprise)" (2018–2021) "Engine Roll Call (version 3)" (2018–2021)
Composer	Various Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell (1984–2003) Robert Hartshorne (2004–2016) Ed Welch (2004–2008) Peter Hartshorne (2011–2016) Chris Renshaw (2016–2021) Oliver Davis (2016–2017)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	24
No. of episodes	584 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Various Britt Allcroft (1984–1986, 2002) Angus Wright (1991–1998) Peter Urie (2002–2003) Jocelyn Stevenson (2003–2006) Christopher Skala (2007–2011) Marion Edwards (2009–2015) Lenora Hume (2009–2010) Karen Barnes (2011–2013) Kallan Kagan (2013–2017) Jeff Young (2013–2015) Steven Hecht (2013–2015) Michael Carrington (2013–2014) Christopher Keenan (2014–2021) Edward Catchpole (2015) Marianne Culbert (2016) Kyle MacDougall (2016–2021) Jamie LeClaire (2016–2021) Phil LaFrance (2016–2021)
Producers	Various David Mitton (1984–1998) Robert D. Cardona (1984–1986) Britt Allcroft (1991–1998) Phil Fehrle (2002–2003) Simon Spencer (2004–2008) Nicole Stinn (2008–2012) Ian McCue (2011–2017) Halim Jabbour (2013) Robert Anderson (2013; 2015–2017) Brian Lynch (2013–2015) Jennifer Hill (2014–2015) Lynda Craigmyle (2016) Jane Sobol (2016) Tracy Blagdon (2016–2021) Micaela Winter (2016–2018)
Production locations	Clapham Junction (1984) Clearwater Studios Battersea (1984) Shepperton Studios (1986–2008)
Running time	4–11 minutes 4 minutes, 30 seconds (series 1–7) 10 minutes[d] (series 8–12) 11 minutes[e] (Series 13–24)
Production companies	Clearwater Features (1984–1986) The Britt Allcroft Company / Gullane Entertainment[f] (1984–2003) HIT Entertainment (2003–17) Mattel Television (2017–2021)
Original release
Network	ITV[g]
Release	9 October 1984 (1984-10-09) – 14 July 1992 (1992-07-14)
Network	Cartoon Network[h]
Release	16 October 1995 (1995-10-16) – 19 October 1998 (1998-10-19)
Network	Nick Jr.[i]
Release	16 September 2002 (2002-09-16) – 15 January 2008 (2008-01-15)
Network	Channel 5
Release	1 September 2008 (2008-09-01) – 20 January 2021 (2021-01-20)
Related
Tugs Shining Time Station Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Thomas & Friends^[j] is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on The Railway Series books by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry, the series was developed for television by Britt Allcroft. The series centers on various anthropomorphic steam locomotives as well as other vehicles living on the fictional Island of Sodor. The show was initially filmed in live action on model sets, whereas the latter half of its run was produced using CGI. Over 500 episodes were produced over the course of 24 series.

In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series, Shining Time Station, on PBS' PTV Park block on 29 January 1989, while broadcast of the series did shift over time, it later aired on PBS Kids up until 2017. The rights to the series are currently owned by HIT Entertainment (a subsidiary of Mattel), which acquired Gullane Entertainment in July 2002. HIT was folded into Mattel in 2016.

A North American 2D animated reboot, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, premiered on 13 September 2021 on Cartoon Network's preschool block Cartoonito, ending its run on 11 September 2025 with the final set of episodes released on Netflix.

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