Series 24

**Series 24** of *Thomas & Friends* will begin airing in May 2020 for the UK and US.

## Production

Mattel green-lit a new series and several specials for Thomas & Friends that will premiere in 2020 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the franchise. Production will consist of 20 x 11-minute episodes as well as three 22-minute specials following the recent revamp of the series[1].

David Stoten was announced as the new head writer for the series, succeeding Andrew Brenner [2]. This is also marks the final series animated by Jam Filled Toronto [3].

Unlike the previous two series, Series 24 does not have a half-and-half split between Sodor episodes and International episodes. Instead, there are five International episodes - one per country - while the rest of the episodes are based on the Island of Sodor. Additionally, some episodes from this series (such as *Thomas and the Royal Engine*, *World of Tomorrow* and *Emily to the Rescue*) lack the fantasy sequences which were present in every episode of the previous two series.

## Episodes

1. Emily's Best Friend
2. Thomas' Fuzzy Friend
3. The Great Little Railway Show
4. Thomas and the Forest Engines
5. Emily to the Rescue
6. Shankar's Makeover
7. Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant
8. James the Super Engine
9. Thomas' Not-So-Lucky Day
10. Ace's Brave Jump
11. Sonny's Second Chance
12. Thomas and the Inventor's Workshop
13. The Inventor's Spectacular Bridge
14. Yong Bao and the Tiger
15. Gordon and Rebecca, Coming Through!
16. Kenji on the Rails Again
17. Cleo the Road Engine
18. Nia's Bright Idea
19. Cleo's First Snow
20. Thomas' Animal Friends

### Double-Length episodes

1. Thomas and the Royal Engine
2. A New Arrival
3. World of Tomorrow

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Bill and Ben
* Harvey
* Emily
* Rosie
* Hiro
* Belle
* Stephen
* Marion
* Glynn
* Ashima
* Gina
* Yong Bao
* Shane
* Raul
* Nia
* Rebecca
* Tamika
* Gabriela
* Lorenzo
* Diesel
* Daisy
* Salty
* Philip
* Fernando
* Shankar
* Gustavo
* Skiff
* Skarloey
* Sir Handel
* Peter Sam
* Victor
* Millie
* Rusty
* Bert
* Rex
* Mike
* Annie and Clarabel
* Henrietta
* Rocky
* Aubrey and Aiden
* Lei
* Beppe
* Bertie
* Bulgy
* Ace
* Ester
* Harold
* Cranky
* Owen
* Merrick
* Reg
* Carly
* Beresford
* Cassia
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Lady Hatt
* Bridget Hatt
* Stephen Hatt
* Fergus Duncan
* Dowager Hatt
* The Thin Clergyman
* Queen Elizabeth II
* Farmer McColl
* Cyril the Fogman
* Mr. Percival
* Headkeeper Jack
* Sir Robert Norramby
* Albert
* The Great Railway Show Judge
* Charubala
* The Indian Actor
* The Indian Director
* Mia
* The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (do not speak)
* Duck (cameo)
* Oliver (cameo)
* Flying Scotsman (cameo)
* Stanley (cameo)
* Connor (cameo)
* Caitlin (cameo)
* Porter (cameo)
* Ryan (cameo)
* Norman (cameo)
* The Mainland Diesels (cameo)
* Winston (cameo)
* Big Mickey (cameo)
* Emerson (cameo)
* Isla (cameo)
* Jem Cole (cameo)
* Tom Tipper (cameo)
* Willie (cameo)
* The Mayor of Sodor (cameo)
* Mr. Bubbles (cameo)
* The Teacher (cameo)
* The Grumpy Passenger (cameo)
* Albert's Wife (cameo)
* Donald and Douglas (music video cameo)
* Samson (music video cameo)
* Paxton (music video cameo)
* Sidney (music video cameo)
* Hugo (music video cameo)
* Stafford (music video cameo)
* Toad (music video cameo)
* Bradford (music video cameo)
* Jack (music video cameo)
* Alfie (music video cameo)
* Max and Monty (music video cameo)
* Darcy (music video cameo)
* Sodor Brass Band (music video cameo)
* The Photographer (music video cameo)
* The Batucada Players (music video cameo)
* Spencer (mentioned)
* Captain Joe (mentioned)

Theo, Lexi, Hurricane, Merlin, Hong-Mei, Da Li, Xiao Hu, Frankie, Rheneas, Duncan, Luke, An An and Yin-Long are likely to appear.

### Characters Introduced

* Duchess
* Sonny
* Marcio and Marcia
* The Mean Engines
* Kenji
* Cleo
* Prince Charles
* Ruth
* Baz and Bernie
* Dr. Kim
* Dr. Holyfield
* Dr. Hetty
* Professor Freidrich

## Cast

### UK and AUS

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Harvey, Glynn, Salty, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bert, Bertie, Harold, Sir Topham Hatt, Dowager Hatt and Mr. Percival
* Rob Rackstraw as James, Toby, Owen, Fergus Duncan, the Thin Clergyman, Bernie and Professor Freidrich
* Nigel Pilkington as Percy
* Rasmus Hardiker as Bill and Philip
* Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Rusty, Rocky, Cranky, Merrick and Farmer McColl
* Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Annie, Clarabel, Bridget Hatt and Stephen Hatt
* Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
* Togo Igawa as Hiro
* Bob Golding as Stephen and Baz
* Lucy Montgomery as Marion and Carly
* Tina Desai as Ashima
* Anna Francolini as Gina
* Dan Li as Yong Bao
* Shane Jacobson as Shane
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca and Dr. Hetty
* Rose Robinson as Tamika
* Vincenzo Nicoli as Lorenzo and Beppe
* Rosamund Pike as Duchess
* Joe Swash as Sonny
* Chris Lew Kum Hoi as The Mean Engines
* Kerry Shale as Diesel and Cyril the Fogman
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy
* Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar
* Francisco Labbe as Gustavo
* Matt McCooey as Kenji
* Steven Kynman as Peter Sam
* David Bedella as Victor
* Miranda Raison as Millie
* Tom Stourton as Rex
* Tim Whitnall as Mike and Reg
* Maggie Ollerenshaw as Henrietta
* Genevieve McCarthy as Aubrey
* Tim Bain as Aiden
* Windson Liong as Lei
* Colin McFarlane as Bulgy, Beresford and Dr. Holyfield
* Jamie Campbell Bower as Skiff
* Peter Andre as Ace
* Flaminia Cinque as Ester
* Harriet Kershaw as Cleo
* Laura Cucurullo as Cassia
* Sharon Miller as Queen Elizabeth II
* Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
* Robert Wilfort as the Great Railway Show Judge
* Montserrat Lombard as Mia
* Dominique Moore as Ruth
* Siu-see Hung as Dr. Kim

### US

* Joseph May as Thomas
* William Hope as Edward, Toby, Rocky and Farmer McColl
* Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, Diesel, Harold, Cyril the Fogman and Mr. Percival
* Rob Rackstraw as James, Owen, Fergus Duncan, the Thin Clergyman, Bernie and Professor Freidrich
* Christopher Ragland as Percy
* Rasmus Hardiker as Bill and Philip
* Matt Wilkinson as Ben, Rusty and Merrick
* Keith Wickham as Harvey, Glynn, Salty, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bert, Bertie, Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt
* Jules de Jongh as Emily
* Nicola Stapleton as Rosie
* Teresa Gallagher as Belle, Annie, Clarabel, Bridget Hatt and Stephen Hatt
* Togo Igawa as Hiro
* Bob Golding as Stephen and Baz
* Lucy Montgomery as Marion and Carly
* Tina Desai as Ashima
* Anna Francolini as Gina
* Dan Li as Yong Bao
* Shane Jacobson as Shane
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca and Dr. Hetty
* Rose Robinson as Tamika
* Vincenzo Nicoli as Lorenzo and Beppe
* Rosamund Pike as Duchess
* Joe Swash as Sonny
* Chris Lew Kum Hoi as The Mean Engines
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy
* Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar
* Francisco Labbe as Gustavo
* Matt McCooey as Kenji
* Steven Kynman as Peter Sam
* David Bedella as Victor
* Miranda Raison as Millie
* Tom Stourton as Rex
* Tim Whitnall as Mike and Reg
* Maggie Ollerenshaw as Henrietta
* Genevieve McCarthy as Aubrey
* Tim Bain as Aiden
* Windson Liong as Lei
* Colin McFarlane as Bulgy, Beresford and Dr. Holyfield
* Jamie Campbell Bower as Skiff
* Peter Andre as Ace
* Flaminia Cinque as Ester
* Harriet Kershaw as Cleo
* Glenn Wrage as Cranky
* Laura Cucurullo as Cassia
* Sharon Miller as Queen Elizabeth II
* Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
* Robert Wilfort as the Great Railway Show Judge
* Montserrat Lombard as Mia
* Dominique Moore as Ruth
* Siu-see Hung as Dr. Kim

## Trivia

* This series marks the first of several things:
	+ The first series to have David Stoten as head writer.
	+ The first series in which Porter and Paxton do not have a speaking role since their introductions.
	+ The first series in which Kevin does not have a speaking role since the eighteenth series.
	+ The first series in which Emily has a number.
	+ Beresford's first appearance in an episode.
	+ Queen Elizabeth II's first appearance in full CGI.
* This is the final series animated by Jam Filled Toronto.
* Sharon Miller, Rosamund Pike, Joe Swash, Matt McCooey, Dominique Moore and Chris Lew Kum Hoi join the voice cast.