CBeebies has commissioned the 2D-animated family series Nikhil & Jay from UK prodcos CAKE, King Banana TV and Ireland’s Paper Owl Films.

The 52 x 11-minute series follows two young siblings whose parents are Indian and English. The series highlights the similarities and differences between the customs, traditions and music of South Asian and British cultures. 

The show is based on the book series of the same name by Chitra Soundar, who was inspired to write them because of her own experiences having a British and South Asian family. The series is published by England’s Otter-Barry Books and launched in 2021.

Nikhil & Jay received funding from Northern Ireland Screen and CAKE holds international distribution rights. 

The greenlight for the series arrives in a period of disruption at the BBC, which recently announced it is cutting 1,000 hours of commissioned content across genres, including approximately 100 hours of kids programming. The pubcaster faces declining revenues and has been tasked with cost-cutting to meet new budget targets.