# Mr. Bean
**Mr. Bean** is a near-silent British comedy character played by [Rowan Atkinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rowan-atkinson), created with writer [Richard Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-curtis), who debuted on ITV on 1 January 1990 in a pilot watched by 13.45 million viewers[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593). The childlike, self-absorbed Bean bungles ordinary situations in elaborate visual routines carried largely without dialogue, a quality that made the character a global success: the series has been in continual distribution for over 30 years and sold to more than 200 territories worldwide[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/). The franchise spans 14 live-action television episodes, two feature films, an animated series, shorts, sketches and a 2012 Olympics appearance[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First broadcast | ITV, 1 January 1990, audience of 13.45 million[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593) |
| Live-action run | 14 episodes, 1990–1995; the last produced, "Goodnight, Mr Bean", aired 31 October 1995[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/) • [3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline) |
| Creators | Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, from a 1979 Edinburgh Festival show[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean) |
| Ratings record | Highest-rated comedy series in British history, with a 60% audience share in the 1990s[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean) |
| Awards | International Emmy (Popular Arts), Banff World Television Award (Comedies), and Golden Rose at Montreux, all 1993[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline) |
| International reach | Sold to over 200 territories; screened in almost 250 countries by one count[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/) • [1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593) |
| Feature films | *Bean* (1997) and *Mr Bean's Holiday* (2007, $235 million worldwide)[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean) • [3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline) |
| Animated series | First broadcast on CBC in Canada on 25 January 2002 and on ITV in the UK on 2 March 2002; 26 episodes completed by February 2003[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline) |
## Origins and development
The character began at the [Edinburgh Festival Fringe](https://www.edgepedia.org/edinburgh-festival-fringe) in 1979, when Atkinson and Curtis, who had been at university together at Oxford, were preparing a show. Atkinson recalled that Curtis, "bored with writing words", suggested "Why don't we try something visual?"[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html). The Canadian Encyclopedia records that the pair created the character for Atkinson's one-man show at the 1979 festival, starting from the idea of a man who had trouble staying awake; Atkinson stated that he was the person he naturally became when he was denied words to express himself, evolving into a version of Mr. Bean when he had to perform visually[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean) • [11](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2022/06/18/rowan-atkinson-in-a-proper-free-society-you-should-be-allowed-to-make-jokes-about-absolutely-anything/). One Oxford Revue sketch called "Cheating", in which Atkinson was closely involved, was later carried over essentially unchanged into a Mr Bean sketch before the character bore that name[6](https://www.pbs.org/video/the-story-of-mr-bean-m25si2/).
**Silent-film roots.** Atkinson traces his interest in visual comedy to discovering [Jacques Tati](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-tati)'s *Monsieur Hulot's Holiday* while working as a school projectionist in the sixth form[6](https://www.pbs.org/video/the-story-of-mr-bean-m25si2/). He has described the character as "a throwback to the silent films of Keaton and Chaplin, especially, to the French director and actor Jacques Tati"[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html).
The television series was made by Tiger Television for Thames on ITV in color from 1990[7](https://web.archive.org/web/20070814073751/www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/mrbean_1299002166.shtml). British Comedy Guide credits the writing to Robin Driscoll, Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, direction to John Birkin, production to Sue Vertue and Peter Bennett-Jones, and the company as Tiger Aspect Productions; HBO later became a co-production partner for the live-action series[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean/) • [3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline).
## Episodes and format
Only 14 episodes of the television series were ever made[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/). The last to be produced, "Goodnight, Mr Bean", was broadcast on UK television on 31 October 1995[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline). British Comedy Guide lists the 14 episodes as one series broadcast 1990–2015, plus 5 [Comic Relief](https://www.edgepedia.org/comic-relief) specials[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean/); the Los Angeles Times, reviewing the 2015 remastered collection *The Whole Bean*, describes "all 14 episodes — seven brief but glorious hours — of the two-season series"[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html). The Canadian Encyclopedia, by contrast, states that just 13 episodes exist[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean), a discrepancy with the 14-episode count given by PBS, Disney+ and [The Conversation](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-conversation)[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/) • [9](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-d7c9ac28-ad04-4370-b33e-0704b7a56240) • [1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593).
The scarcity was no obstacle to popularity. In the 1990s the series became the highest-rated comedy series in British history, with a 60% audience share, and the Canadian Encyclopedia observes that the episodes "have entered a kind of permanent orbit, like the original Star Trek"[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean). "Mr Bean in Room 426" was first broadcast on 17 February 1993[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline). The pilot, still streaming on ITVX, is described as the award-winning episode in which Bean takes an exam and goes to church; episodes run 25 minutes[10](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287).
## Characters and motifs
Bean is defined by his approach to everyday situations in extraordinary ways: in early episodes he studies the wrong maths equations for an exam, and tries to change into swimming trunks at the beach without anyone seeing[7](https://web.archive.org/web/20070814073751/www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/mrbean_1299002166.shtml). ITVX's listing summarizes the premise as watching "the poor man attempt to deal with ordinary situations in the most extraordinary of ways"[10](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287). The character is largely silent, and The Conversation argues that this absence of dialogue helped the show become a global hit, transcending language and cultural differences[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593).
## Spin-offs and films
The first feature film, *Bean* (1997), cost about $20 million and had recouped its costs five times over, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean). Bean remains mostly mute in the film except for a pivotal speech at the unveiling of [Whistler's Mother](https://www.edgepedia.org/whistlers-mother), which Atkinson called the most difficult speech to write "because he has never really spoken in constructed sentences"[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean).
*Mr Bean's Holiday* was released in the UK on 30 March 2007 and grossed $235 million worldwide; its US release on 24 August 2007 grossed $32.6 million[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline).
**Animation.** The Mr Bean Animated Series was first broadcast on CBC in Canada on 25 January 2002 and on ITV in the UK on 2 March 2002; the 26th and last episode of that run was completed in February 2003[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline). The animated series also launched on Nickelodeon UK, where it was the highest-rated show on [Nicktoons](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicktoons)[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline).
Tie-in publishing followed the television success: *Mr Bean's Diary*, first published by Boxtree, sold 1 million copies[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline).
## Reception and international reach
In 1993 the series won the International Emmy (Popular Arts), the Banff World Television Award (Comedies), and the first episode won the [Golden Rose](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-rose) at the 1993 Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival in Montreux[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline). The series has been broadcast in more than 80 countries, and about nine million videos were sold worldwide[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean). PBS records over 30 years of continual distribution and sales to over 200 territories[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/), while The Conversation counts screening in almost 250 countries[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593).
Atkinson has been cautious about extending the character. "I think Bean is coming to the end of his natural life span," he said. "There comes a point where you think, 'I've done that.'"[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean)
## By the numbers: a silent comic in a talking age
The commercial asymmetry of the franchise is its most striking feature. Fourteen episodes, totalling about seven hours of material[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html), generated a 60% audience share in Britain[4](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean), distribution in over 200 territories[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/), and an archived official franchise timeline recorded 30 million Facebook fans and 1 billion clip views on YouTube[3](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline). The mechanism is the character's near-silence: PBS's documentary cites the lack of a language barrier as the reason Mr Bean became a truly international success[6](https://www.pbs.org/video/the-story-of-mr-bean-m25si2/), and The Conversation makes the same argument, crediting the absence of dialogue with carrying the show across cultural differences[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593).
The Conversation places Bean in a direct genealogy of predominantly silent comedy, calling him "arguably the last great predominantly silent comic creation, extending a genealogy including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Harpo Marx and Jacques Tati"[1](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593). Atkinson's own account of the character as a throwback to Keaton, Chaplin and Tati[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html) matches that placement.
## Availability today
The original series streams on ITVX in the UK[10](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287) and on Disney+, whose listing repeats the observation that the character has been known worldwide since 1990 despite only 14 episodes being made[9](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-d7c9ac28-ad04-4370-b33e-0704b7a56240). PBS also distributes the series[2](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/).
## References
1. [Happy birthday, Mr Bean! Celebrating 30 years of a major comedy character, The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/happy-birthday-mr-bean-celebrating-30-years-of-a-major-comedy-character-124593)
2. [Mr. Bean | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/show/mr-bean/)
3. [Timeline – Mr Bean (official franchise site, archived)](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219134210/http:/www.mrbean.com/timeline)
4. [Mr. Bean, The Canadian Encyclopedia](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mr-bean)
5. [Rowan Atkinson talks up 25 years of Mr. Bean's clownish chaos, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-rowan-atkinson-mr-bean-25-years-20150326-column.html)
6. [Mr. Bean | The Story of Mr. Bean, PBS documentary](https://www.pbs.org/video/the-story-of-mr-bean-m25si2/)
7. [BBC – Comedy Guide – Mr Bean (archived)](https://web.archive.org/web/20070814073751/www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/mrbean_1299002166.shtml)
8. [Mr. Bean – ITV sitcom, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/mr_bean/)
9. [Mr. Bean | Watch Full Episodes, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-d7c9ac28-ad04-4370-b33e-0704b7a56240)
10. [Mr Bean – ITVX](https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bean/1a7287)
11. [Rowan Atkinson: ‘In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything’](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2022/06/18/rowan-atkinson-in-a-proper-free-society-you-should-be-allowed-to-make-jokes-about-absolutely-anything/)
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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 › British sitcoms and comedy series › British sitcoms (1990s–2000s)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 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