# Brainchild
**Brainchild** is an American educational streaming television series for children that explains everyday science topics, released on Netflix on November 2, 2018 as a single season of 13 episodes.[1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild) • [2](https://thetvdb.com/series/brainchild/seasons/official/1) Each episode takes one topic, such as germs, emotions, social media, or space, and explains it through experiments, games, illusions, and demonstrations aimed at grade schoolers.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/39426/brainchild)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | November 2, 2018, on Netflix; all 13 episodes of season 1 released that day[1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild) • [2](https://thetvdb.com/series/brainchild/seasons/official/1) |
| Format | Educational children's science series, average runtime about 23 minutes, rated TV-Y7[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/39426/brainchild) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/brainchild) |
| Host | Sahana Srinivasan, with "Science Friend" Alie Ward and magician Ben Seidman[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3) |
| Creators | Adam "Tex" Davis and Jerry Kolber; produced by Atomic Entertainment Group[6](https://tvtango.com/series/brainchild) |
| Executive producer | Pharrell Williams[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3) |
| Educational resources | 52 free lesson plans and activity handouts, at elementary (grades 3 to 5) and middle school (grades 6 to 8) levels[7](https://www.brainchildshow.com/) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 8.1; Common Sense Media age rating 7+[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/brainchild) • [1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
#### Season 1
Brainchild has no season-long story. It is a topical anthology, and each of the thirteen roughly half-hour episodes picks a subject from a kid's actual life and interrogates it from every angle. Host [Sahana Srinivasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sahana-srinivasan), then an undergraduate at UT Austin, anchors the show, walking viewers through each question while comedians, magicians, puppets, and real kids on the street supply the demonstrations.
The first episode, "Social Media," sets the template. It opens on the like-count experiment: two photos are shown to kids and adults, one apparently with millions of likes and one with only a few, and asked which they prefer, most people pick the popular one. Then the pictures are switched and the same people are asked again, and their preferences flip with the numbers, a simple demonstration of how social approval bends taste. From there the episode deconstructs the forced perspective of selfies, the mechanics of the humblebrag, and the cruelty of online comments. [Judah Friedlander](https://www.edgepedia.org/judah-friedlander) appears as a man who literally lugs around every function a smartphone provides, from the camera to the map to the calculator, so viewers can see how much a single pocket device has absorbed.
The episode on germs takes the show to Brooklyn's DeKalb Market Hall, where people drop donuts on the floor and the crew watches to see who still eats them, putting the five-second rule to a live test. The "Space" episode, Srinivasan's own favorite, runs from the scale of the solar system to the question of whether life could exist elsewhere in the universe, while "Oceans" has her acting opposite a puppet. Other episodes cover emotions, motivation, dreams, and the science of the body, each mixing street interviews with animated explainers.
**The emotions episode contains the sequence people remember and quote back to the creators: the anonymous comment panel.** A group of middle schoolers is seated in front of a screen showing a young YouTube singer, and they are told their comments will be posted anonymously. The comments start as mild criticism and escalate, one after another, until the panel has turned vicious, mocking the singer's voice and appearance with the freedom that anonymity grants. Then the singer walks into the room, and the same kids, suddenly face to face with a real person, go quiet and retreat from everything they wrote. The creators described it as watching a flame war happen in real time with real people, and it lands harder than any lecture on cyberbullying could, because the audience watches ordinary kids become the mob and then unbecome it in the space of a few minutes.
The motivation episode runs a quieter version of the same trick. Kids are secretly rigged to fail at a DDR-style dance game, and afterward they perform measurably worse on an unrelated test, with some giving up entirely, dramatizing real research on how failure in one area spills over and drains effort everywhere else.
The season ends with the episode on extraterrestrial life, taking a question kids already argue about at lunch and showing them how scientists actually go about answering it.
### Characters
- **Sahana Srinivasan** plays herself as host, the curious, quick-witted guide who runs the experiments and delivers the science. Her favorite episode to make was "Space," and her least comfortable assignment was acting opposite a puppet in "Oceans."
- **Alie Ward** appears as a recurring contributor, adding comedic science asides in the style of her other science-communication work.
- **Ben Seidman** appears as a magician whose tricks double as demonstrations of how the brain can be fooled, tying perception and psychology into the show's experiments.
- **Judah Friedlander** guests in the premiere as the man carrying a smartphone's entire feature set on his person.
### Interpretations and controversies
Parents on Common Sense Media praised the show as fun and engaging but flagged two things: some scientific claims are simplified to the point of being inaccurate or debatable, and a few moments, including brief nudity in one episode, prompted reviewers to suggest pre-watching before handing it to younger kids.
### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations
Brainchild is itself a spinoff, adapted for kids from Atomic Entertainment's Brain Games, the National Geographic Channel series that ran seven seasons and earned the team a Primetime Emmy nomination for informational series or special. No second season was produced; the show is listed as canceled/ended after the 2018–2019 season.
## Format and presentation
The series introduces a different topic in each episode and explores how it relates to viewers' experiences. Host Sahana Srinivasan leads each installment, supported by [Alie Ward](https://www.edgepedia.org/alie-ward), credited as the "Science Friend", who provides in-depth expertise, and the magician Ben Seidman, who contributes entertaining demonstrations.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3) The show's own description promises interactive games, illusions, hidden-camera experiments, and magic as its explanatory tools.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/39426/brainchild)
Topics alternate between tangible and intangible scientific concepts. The first season covers social media, germs, superheroes, dreams, space, emotions, motivation, oceans, thinking, hidden forces such as gravity, magnetism, and electricity, creativity, memory, and a finale called "Beat the Parents" that pits kids against their parents in mental and physical challenges.[2](https://thetvdb.com/series/brainchild/seasons/official/1) Episode runtimes listed by Apple TV range from 22 to 24 minutes.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3)
## Production
Brainchild was created by Adam "Tex" Davis and Jerry Kolber and produced by Atomic Entertainment Group, the same company that produced [National Geographic](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-geographic)'s *Brain Games*.[6](https://tvtango.com/series/brainchild) Davis is also credited as the series' writer and producer.[8](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/brainchild/cast/1030154873/) The musician [Pharrell Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pharrell-williams) served as an executive producer.[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3)
## Educational use
The show's companion website offers all 52 lesson plans and activity handouts free of charge, with curriculum for each of the 13 episodes at two levels, elementary (3rd to 5th grades) and middle school (6th to 8th grades). The lessons are aligned with the [Next Generation Science Standards](https://www.edgepedia.org/next-generation-science-standards), Common Core Learning Standards in Literacy and Math, and National Health Standards, and can be adapted for other grades.[7](https://www.brainchildshow.com/) Common Sense Media's review describes the series as targeting early tweens, with content that children as young as 6 or 7 can enjoy, and notes that some supporting material, such as definitions of new vocabulary, appears on screen.[1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild)
## Reception
On IMDb the series holds a rating of 8.1.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/brainchild) Common Sense Media rated it suitable for ages 7 and up, called it a smart show that presents science as fun, and named it a Common Sense Selection; its review also notes that the series is not a thorough educational resource on its own.[1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild) A Decider review cited by Rotten Tomatoes recommended it as a show parents can watch with teens or preteens.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brainchild/s01) Parent reviews collected by Common Sense Media describe the show as engaging and curiosity-building, while some parents raised concerns about the accuracy of certain information and recommended previewing episodes.[1](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild)
## Availability
The series is listed as streaming on Netflix, including with the ad-supported plan, in the United States.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/brainchild) Netflix lists it under Kids' TV, Education for Kids, and Variety TV, and describes it as humorous, educational, and focused on science and life lessons.[10](https://www.netflix.com/title/80215086)
## References
1. [Brainchild – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/brainchild)
2. [Brainchild – Season 1, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/brainchild/seasons/official/1)
3. [Brainchild – Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/brainchild/umc.cmc.380vnts7px8hb2xfsryfucdl3)
4. [Brainchild – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/39426/brainchild)
5. [Brainchild – watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/brainchild)
6. [Brainchild – Series, TV Tango](https://tvtango.com/series/brainchild)
7. [Brainchild Curriculum, official site](https://www.brainchildshow.com/)
8. [Brainchild – Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/brainchild/cast/1030154873/)
9. [Brainchild: Season 1 – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brainchild/s01)
10. [Brainchild – Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80215086)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Nature, wildlife, and science documentary series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license