# List of Mr. Bean episodes
The live-action *Mr. Bean* episode list covers the 14 (or, by some counts, 15) half-hour comedy episodes starring [Rowan Atkinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rowan-atkinson) that ITV broadcast between 1 January 1990 and late 1995, together with the charity specials and the much longer-running animated series that followed. The show was built on near-silent visual comedy: Atkinson's bumbling, self-contained character turns everyday tasks, from taking an exam to decorating his flat, into calamities.[1](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287/1a7287a0001) • [2](https://claytribune.com/mr-bean-review-charming-gags-shallow-laughs/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original live-action run | 14 episodes per ITV publicity and the official episode count of 1 January 1990 to 15 November 1995; a fan-maintained episode list counts 15, ending 15 December 1995[3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/itv_week_02_highlights_2021.pdf) • [2](https://claytribune.com/mr-bean-review-charming-gags-shallow-laughs/) • [4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes) |
| First episode | "Mr. Bean", 1 January 1990, directed by John Howard Davies, written by Ben Elton, Richard Curtis, and Rowan Atkinson[4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes) |
| Format | Half-hour episodes, roughly 25 minutes on ITVX, each built from several sketch-like stories with almost no dialogue[1](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287/1a7287a0001) |
| Recurring cast | Matilda Ziegler as girlfriend Irma Gobb, in rare repeat appearances; otherwise Atkinson carries the show alone[5](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/mr-bean) |
| Audience | Up to 18 million viewers at its peak[6](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1990s/mr-bean/) |
| Awards | An Emmy and a Golden Rose of Montreux, among overseas awards[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/mar/30/features.review) |
| Animated follow-up | 182 episodes across four series, 2002 to 2025, voiced by Atkinson[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean_animated_series/episodes/) |
## Original live-action series (1990–1995)
The episodes were produced and released as one-off specials rather than a conventional season, appearing irregularly over six years. The first five aired with the following credits:[4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mr. Bean" | John Howard Davies | Ben Elton, Richard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson | 1 January 1990 |
| 2 | "The Return of Mr. Bean" | John Howard Davies | Richard Curtis, Robin Driscoll & Rowan Atkinson | 5 November 1990 |
| 3 | "The Curse of Mr. Bean" | John Howard Davies | Richard Curtis, Robin Driscoll & Rowan Atkinson | 1 January 1991 |
| 4 | "Mr. Bean Goes to Town" | Paul Weiland and John Birkin | Richard Curtis, Robin Driscoll & Rowan Atkinson | 15 October 1991 |
| 5 | "The Trouble with Mr. Bean" | Paul Weiland and John Birkin | Richard Curtis, Robin Driscoll & Rowan Atkinson | 1 January 1992 |
ITVX, which streams the series, lists the fourteen broadcast episodes with these storylines:[1](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287/1a7287a0001)
1. **"Mr. Bean"** – Bean takes an exam, sunbathes, and goes to church with [Richard Briers](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-briers).
2. **"The Return of Mr. Bean"** – Bean visits a department store and gets carried away.
3. **"The Curse of Mr. Bean"** – Bean turns a diving demonstration and sandwich-making into moments of embarrassment.
4. **"Mr. Bean Goes to Town"** – Bean buys a new television and camera, has an itchy foot, and goes on a date.
5. **"The Trouble with Mr. Bean"** – Bean is late for a dental appointment and has trouble with a bothersome fly.
6. **"[Mr. Bean](https://www.edgepedia.org/mr-bean-character) Rides Again"** – Bean comes to the aid of a heart attack victim and fails miserably to post a letter.
7. **"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean"** – Bean wreaks havoc at Christmas.
8. **"Mr. Bean in Room 426"** – Bean locks himself out of a hotel room in a state of undress.
9. **"Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean"** – Bean loses midnight at [New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-year) and wreaks havoc while decorating.
10. **"Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean"** – Bean finds himself looking after a baby at a funfair.
11. **"Back to School Mr. Bean"** – Bean returns to school, scares pupils with chemistry, but proves adept in art.
12. **"Tee Off, Mr. Bean"** – Bean somehow makes a crazy golf course even crazier.
13. **"Goodnight Mr. Bean"** – Bean thinks up unusual methods to help him sleep.
14. **"Hair by Mr. Bean of London"** – Bean goes for a haircut and causes chaos at a school fun day.
### Fourteen or fifteen?
Counts differ between sources. ITV's own publicity for a 2021 anniversary documentary describes "just 14 episodes of the live action TV show",[3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/itv_week_02_highlights_2021.pdf) and the official episode guide and several reviews use the same figure.[2](https://claytribune.com/mr-bean-review-charming-gags-shallow-laughs/) • [9](https://mrbean.fr/en/episodes) The fan-maintained episode list counts 15, with a last air date of 15 December 1995,[4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes) and a Netflix profile of Atkinson also says 15 episodes.[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/rowan-atkinson-talks-about-his-immigrant-fan-base) The extra entry is a clip-show compilation aired shortly after the final episode, which some counts include and others do not; the fourteenth episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", was released on VHS rather than premiering on ITV.[4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes)
## Specials and spin-offs
Beyond the main run, the episode list records two further live-action strands: five [Comic Relief](https://www.edgepedia.org/comic-relief) specials broadcast between 15 March 1991 and 13 March 2015, and twenty "Handy Bean" shorts from 1 February 2018 to 12 February 2020.[4](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes) A feature film, *[Bean](https://www.edgepedia.org/bean-film): The Ultimate Disaster Movie* (1997), followed the television run.[6](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1990s/mr-bean/)
## Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
The animated continuation dwarfs the live-action original in episode count. Series 1 comprised 52 episodes of around 12 minutes, broadcast by ITV in three blocks in spring 2002, summer 2003, and autumn 2004; series 2 brought another 52 twelve-minute episodes to CITV from February 2015; series 3 added 26 episodes from spring 2019; and series 4 began in 2025, for a total of 182 episodes across four series.[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean_animated_series/episodes/) Atkinson voices the title character and, for the early series, acted out reference footage for the animators.[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean_animated_series/episodes/) • [11](https://www.bloomsburyvisualarts.com/app/downloadpdf?cachepagetype=%24cachepagetype&chapterPdfId=9781315772813.ch-004.pdf&citationExist=true¤tTime=Mon+Apr+14+2025+17%3A00%3A00+Pacific+Daylight+Time&docIdS=b-9781315772813-chapter4&documentId=b-9781315772813&epdfIsbn=undefined&lang=en&mlaCitation=&openAccess=false&productLogo=bloomsbury_assets%2Fbva-hub%2Fimages%2FBVA_Logo-H-3f48cc-1100x240.jpg&productName=bva-hub&territory=&tocId=b-9781315772813-chapter4&tocPage=false&type=encyclopedia&workloc=%24workPath&xmlPath=bva-hub%2F43%2Fcontent-types%2Fencyclopedia%2F9781315772813_txt_xml.xml&xsltPath=%2Fcontent-types%2Fencyclopedia%2Fchapter-download.xsl) Early episode titles include "In the Wild", "Missing Teddy", "No Parking", and "Bean's Bounty".[12](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean-animated-series/2a2936)
## Reception
Season 1 holds a 100 percent Tomatometer from five reviews and a 94 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics noting that the episodes never feel padded and that Atkinson makes "the entirely implausible seem thoroughly normal".[13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/mr_bean/s01) The near-total absence of dialogue made the series internationally translatable, and the character became one of the most recognizable comic acts of the 1990s.[10](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/rowan-atkinson-talks-about-his-immigrant-fan-base) Atkinson's persona drew on the tradition of silent film comics such as [Buster Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/buster-keaton), a pursuit of the mode across a string of television episodes.[14](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781135194727_A24421842/preview-9781135194727_A24421842.pdf)
## References
1. [Mr Bean – Series 1 – Episode 1, ITVX](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287/1a7287a0001)
2. [Mr. Bean at 4.1/10: Fourteen Episodes, One Beam of Light, and Almost No Dialogue, Clay Tribune](https://claytribune.com/mr-bean-review-charming-gags-shallow-laughs/)
3. [ITV Weekly Highlights, Week 01/02, January 2021 (Happy Birthday Mr Bean documentary listing)](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/itv_week_02_highlights_2021.pdf)
4. [List of Mr. Bean episodes, Mr. Bean Wiki (Fandom)](https://mrbean.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Mr._Bean_episodes)
5. [Mr. Bean – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/mr-bean)
6. [Mr Bean, Nostalgia Central](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1990s/mr-bean/)
7. [Fears of a clown, The Guardian (2003)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/mar/30/features.review)
8. [Mr Bean episode guide, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean_animated_series/episodes/)
9. [Episodes, Mr Bean (official site)](https://mrbean.fr/en/episodes)
10. [Rowan Atkinson of 'Man vs. Bee' on Visual Comedy and Mr. Bean, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/rowan-atkinson-talks-about-his-immigrant-fan-base)
11. [Lyons, Jonathan. "Shadow and Light." Comedy for Animators, Routledge, 2015, Bloomsbury Visual Arts](https://www.bloomsburyvisualarts.com/app/downloadpdf?cachepagetype=%24cachepagetype&chapterPdfId=9781315772813.ch-004.pdf&citationExist=true¤tTime=Mon+Apr+14+2025+17%3A00%3A00+Pacific+Daylight+Time&docIdS=b-9781315772813-chapter4&documentId=b-9781315772813&epdfIsbn=undefined&lang=en&mlaCitation=&openAccess=false&productLogo=bloomsbury_assets%2Fbva-hub%2Fimages%2FBVA_Logo-H-3f48cc-1100x240.jpg&productName=bva-hub&territory=&tocId=b-9781315772813-chapter4&tocPage=false&type=encyclopedia&workloc=%24workPath&xmlPath=bva-hub%2F43%2Fcontent-types%2Fencyclopedia%2F9781315772813_txt_xml.xml&xsltPath=%2Fcontent-types%2Fencyclopedia%2Fchapter-download.xsl)
12. [Mr Bean: Animated Series, ITVX](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean-animated-series/2a2936)
13. [Mr. Bean: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/mr_bean/s01)
14. [Atkinson, Rowan, preview chapter (Routledge encyclopedia of television)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781135194727_A24421842/preview-9781135194727_A24421842.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Comedy-series episode lists and notable episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license