Series 23

The twenty-third and penultimate series of Thomas & Friends began airing on 18th May 2019 in the US and 2nd September 2019 in the UK.

Production
Mattel green-lit a new series and several specials for Thomas & Friends that premiered in 2019. Production began on the twenty-third series which consisted of 20 11-minute episodes as well as two stories split between three 22-minute specials (one stand-alone and the other a two-parter) following the recent revamp of the series. Every episode has a copyright of 2019.

The series is once again split into two halves: one half with Thomas travelling around the world and one half taking place on the Island of Sodor. Along with more episodes set in the previously visited China, India, and Australia, Thomas also visited two more countries, Italy and Brazil.

The remaining original members of the Steam Team (Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon, and Emily), as well as Bertie and Bulgy, received updated character models this series in order to maintain visual consistency with the newer, more detailed engines. They feature new minor cosmetic details such as additional rivets, handrails, and stepladders.

At the end of 2019, Mattel ended the new deal with Nickelodeon for the show's airing rights in America. The series was then streamed on Netflix the following year.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Emily
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Stanley
 * Belle
 * Caitlin
 * Porter
 * Glynn
 * Ashima
 * Rajiv
 * Raul
 * Shane
 * Yong Bao
 * Gina
 * Hong-Mei
 * Diesel
 * Salty
 * Den
 * Dart
 * Sidney
 * Paxton
 * Norman
 * Philip
 * Fernando
 * Shankar
 * Noor Jehan
 * Flynn
 * Winston
 * Skarloey
 * Peter Sam
 * Victor
 * Millie
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * An An and Yin-Long
 * Aubrey and Aiden
 * Terence
 * Bertie
 * Bulgy
 * Kevin
 * Jack
 * Alfie
 * Oliver the Excavator
 * Max and Monty
 * Harold
 * Emerson
 * Captain
 * Cranky
 * Big Mickey
 * Owen
 * Carly
 * Cassia
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * The Grumpy Passenger
 * Charubala
 * The Teacher
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Ginger-haired Boy
 * Albert's Wife
 * The Great Railway Show Judge
 * The Man with the Green Waistcoat and Grey Hair
 * Madeleine's Parents
 * The Batucada Players
 * The Indian Fashion Designer
 * Mr. Bubbles
 * A Clown
 * The Divers
 * Rocky
 * Butch
 * Farmer McColl
 * Dame Bella's Orchestra
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Rosie
 * Ryan
 * The White Tank Engine(s)
 * The Red Tank Engine(s)
 * The Grey Tender Engine(s)
 * The Brown Tender Engine(s)
 * 'Arry and Bert
 * Sir Handel
 * Duncan
 * Luke
 * Judy and Jerome
 * Merrick
 * Farmer Finney
 * Willie
 * The Bakers
 * Sodor United Football Team
 * The Search and Rescue Manager
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * Dowager Hatt's Friends
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * The Great Railway Show Flagman
 * The Lady with the Big Hat
 * The Indian Police
 * The Dock Manager
 * The Blue Mountain Quarry Manager
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer
 * Ace
 * Ferdinand
 * Axel
 * Carlos
 * Frieda
 * Ivan
 * Three Mainland Diesels
 * Stephen
 * Tamika
 * The Chinese Dragon
 * King Godred
 * Byron
 * Bill and Ben
 * Harvey
 * Marion
 * Gator
 * Samson
 * Hugo
 * Rusty
 * Toad
 * The Two Railway Inspectors
 * George

Returning Characters

 * Jenny Packard

Characters Introduced

 * Gabriela
 * Lorenzo
 * Gustavo
 * Beppe
 * Ester
 * Brenda
 * Darcy
 * Stefano
 * Mia
 * Dame Bella Canto
 * The Crown Thieves
 * The Grumpy Indian Stationmaster
 * The Friendly Indian Stationmaster
 * Sodor Rangers
 * The Road Finisher
 * The Archeologists

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Arlesburgh Goods Yard
 * Blue Mountain Quarry
 * Blondin Bridge
 * Bluff's Cove
 * Brendam Docks
 * Brendam Warehouse
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Crosby Tunnel
 * Crosby Washdown
 * Dryaw
 * Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm
 * Ffarquhar
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Knapford
 * Annie and Clarabel's Shed
 * Knapford Yards
 * M.C. Bunn
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Maithwaite
 * Maron
 * McColl Farm
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * The High Bridge
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * Victor's Shed
 * Terence's Field
 * The Campgrounds
 * The Lead Mines
 * Three-Track Level Crossing
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tidmouth Town Square
 * Tidmouth Tunnel
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * The Dinosaur Park
 * Ulfstead Sheds
 * Vicarstown
 * Vicarstown Bridge
 * Vicarstown Dieselworks
 * Diesel 10's Shed
 * Vicarstown Diesel Sheds
 * Vicarstown Yards
 * Wellsworth
 * Wellsworth Bridge
 * Crocks Scrap Yard
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Road and Rail Runby and Road Bridge
 * Wellsworth Sheds
 * Black Loch
 * Crosby
 * Ballahoo
 * Norramby
 * Kellsthorpe Road
 * Sodor Castle
 * Arlesburgh
 * Callan Castle
 * Wellsworth Hospital
 * Whiff's Waste Dump
 * Australia
 * Adelaide River Station
 * Katherine
 * Pine Tree Station
 * Shane's Station
 * Shane's Shed
 * The Kuranda Rainforest
 * The Outback
 * Brazil
 * Amazon Rainforest
 * Gustavo's Express Line
 * Rio de Janeiro
 * Guanabara Bay
 * The Brazilian Goods Yard
 * The Brazilian Station
 * China
 * Chinese Railway Sheds
 * Chinese Railway Shunting Yard
 * The Chinese Town Halt
 * Chinese Town Halt Tunnel
 * The River Station
 * Cherry Blossom Runby
 * Great Wall of China
 * Himalayas
 * The Bamboo Forest
 * The Nature Reserve
 * Tu Zi Quan
 * India
 * Indian Bridge Over Tunnel Runby
 * Indian Railway Sheds
 * Indian Railway Shunting Yard
 * Surajpur
 * The Elephant Lake
 * The Indian Desert
 * The Indian Mountain Railway
 * The Indian Station
 * Varkala Railway Station
 * Taj Mahal
 * Italy
 * Museum of Archeology
 * The Museum Station
 * Pisa
 * Leaning Tower of Pisa
 * Rome
 * The Colosseum
 * The Italian Construction Site
 * The Italian Scrapyard
 * The Italian Shunting Yard
 * The First Italian Station
 * The Second Italian Station
 * The Italian Seaside Station
 * The Old Italian Mines
 * Kenya
 * Tanzania
 * Dar es Salaam Docks
 * Mount Chuffmore
 * The Mainland
 * The Great Railway Show Yard
 * France
 * Eiffel Tower

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Skarloey, Bertie, Harold, Captain, the Fat Controller, the Grumpy Passenger, the Children, a Passenger and Mr. Bubbles
 * Nigel Pilkington as Percy
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Toby, Stanley, Flynn, Owen, Big Mickey, the Troublesome Trucks, the Road Finisher, the Knapford Stationmaster and a Thief
 * Steven Kynman as Duck, Porter, Dart, Paxton, Peter Sam and Jack
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Annie, Clarabel, Brenda, Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt, the Teacher and Albert's Wife
 * Jules de Jongh as Caitlin
 * Tina Desai as Ashima and the Fashion Designer
 * Nikhil Parmar as Rajiv, the Indian Troublesome Trucks and the Grumpy and Friendly Stationmasters
 * Shane Jacobson as Shane
 * Dan Li as Yong Bao
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Chipo Chung as Hong-Mei
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel, Kevin and the Troublesome Trucks
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip and Monty
 * Gabriel Porras as Fernando, Emerson and the Crowd
 * Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar
 * Sheena Bhattessa as Noor Jehan and Charubala
 * Matt Wilkinson as Winston, Cranky and the Wellsworth Stationmaster
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * Siu-see Hung as An An and a Passenger
 * Windson Liong as Yin-Long and a Passenger
 * Genevieve McCarthy as Aubrey
 * Tim Bain as Aiden, Some Passengers and the Australian Railway Workmen
 * Tom Stourton as Terence and Alfie
 * Colin McFarlane as Bulgy
 * Tim Whitnall as Oliver the Excavator and Max
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Federico Trujillo as Raul, a Batucada Player and a Workman
 * Monica Lopera as Gabriela
 * Francisco Labbe as Gustavo and a Batucada Player
 * Laura Cucurullo as Cassia
 * Christopher Ragland as the Troublesome Trucks and a Passenger
 * Anna Francolini as Gina, the Children, and the Passengers
 * Harriet Kershaw as Darcy, Jenny Packard, and a Kangaroo
 * Vincenzo Nicoli as Lorenzo, Beppe, a Workman, Some Passengers and an Italian Farmer
 * Flaminia Cinque as Ester and Dame Bella Canto
 * Antonio Magro as Stefano, a Stationmaster and the Passengers
 * Montserrat Lombard as Mia and the Passengers
 * Ian McCue as a Thief

US

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * William Hope as Edward and Toby
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, Diesel, Harold, Max and Kevin
 * Rob Rackstraw as James, Stanley, Flynn, Owen, Monty, Big Mickey, the Road Finisher, the Knapford Stationmaster and a Thief
 * Christopher Ragland as Percy, the Troublesome Trucks and a Passenger
 * Steven Kynman as Duck, Dart, Paxton, Peter Sam and a Boy
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily and Caitlin
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle, Annie, Clarabel, Brenda, Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt, the Teacher and Albert's Wife
 * David Menkin as Porter and Jack
 * Keith Wickham as Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Skarloey, Bertie, Captain, the Grumpy Passenger, a Passenger, a Boy, Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Bubbles
 * Tina Desai as Ashima and the Fashion Designer
 * Nikhil Parmar as Rajiv, the Indian Troublesome Trucks and the Grumpy and Friendly Stationmasters
 * Shane Jacobson as Shane
 * Dan Li as Yong Bao
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Chipo Chung as Hong-Mei
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Bob Golding as Sidney
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Gabriel Porras as Fernando, Emerson and the Crowd
 * Sanjeev Bhaskar as Shankar
 * Sheena Bhattessa as Noor Jehan and Charubala
 * Matt Wilkinson as Winston and the Wellsworth Stationmaster
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * Siu-see Hung as An An and a Passenger
 * Windson Liong as Yin-Long and a Passenger
 * Genevieve McCarthy as Aubrey
 * Tim Bain as Aiden, Some Passengers and the Australian Railway Workmen
 * Tom Stourton as Terence and Alfie
 * Colin McFarlane as Bulgy
 * Tim Whitnall as Oliver the Excavator
 * Glenn Wrage as Cranky
 * Lucy Montgomery as Carly
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Federico Trujillo as Raul, a Batucada Player and a Workman
 * Monica Lopera as Gabriela
 * Francisco Labbe as Gustavo and a Batucada Player
 * Laura Cucurullo as Cassia
 * Anna Francolini as Gina, the Children and the Passengers
 * Harriet Kershaw as Darcy, Jenny Packard and a Kangaroo
 * Vincenzo Nicoli as Lorenzo, Beppe, a Workman, Some Passengers and an Italian Farmer
 * Antonio Magro as Stefano, a Stationmaster and the Passengers
 * Montserrat Lombard as Mia and the Passengers
 * Flaminia Cinque as Ester and Dame Bella Canto
 * Ian McCue as a Thief

Trivia

 * This is the penultimate series of Thomas & Friends.
 * This series marks the last occurrences of a few things:
 * Andrew Brenner's final series as head writer and the second time he has not written any episodes for the series since he became head writer, the first time being of the twenty-first series.
 * David Menkin's last series as a member of the voice cast.
 * The last series to air on Nick Jr. in the US and the first series released on Netflix as of 15th March 2020. Within that, this is the last series to be released before the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
 * The last series produced by Mattel Creations under their original name before their rename to Mattel Television starting with the double-length episodes making also the first series produced under the new aforementioned name.
 * The last series released in the 2010s.
 * The last series to air during Michael Angelis' lifetime.
 * The last series since the Big World! Big Adventures! upgrade to have a fantasy sequence in every episode.
 * The last series to air on Hop! and the last to be dubbed into Hebrew at Videofilm International.
 * The last series to have Arabic dubs.
 * The last series to have German and Finnish dubs in the original series.
 * The last series to be dubbed fully in Korean in the original series.
 * The last series to have English subtitles in South Korea.
 * The last series aired by JEI TV and JEI English TV in South Korea.
 * The last series aired by Cartoonito in Italy.
 * The last series to feature Terence in the original series.
 * This series marks the first occurrences of several things:
 * The first series where Thomas, Gordon, James, Percy, Emily, Bertie and Bulgy all gain new, realistic details.
 * The first series in which where Carly speaks in only one episode.
 * The first series in which Emily, Paxton and Sidney speak all of their appearances.
 * The first series since the eleventh series not to have a special released before it.
 * The first series since the seventh series where Edward speaks in only one episode.
 * The first series where Henry is not seen as part of the Steam Team in any way.
 * The first series to feature the Let's Dream for episodes during the characters' fantasy sequences of taking place on Sodor.
 * The first series in which The Chinese Diesel, Hannah, Dexter and Isla do not appear since their introductions.
 * The first series where Keith Wickham plays Mr. Bubbles in the US after Michael Brandon's departure.
 * The first series in which Victor appears in only one episode.
 * The first series since his full basis is shown in The Great Race where Flying Scotsman does not make a physical appearance; while being the first series since he joined the voice cast in said special not to feature Rufus Jones.
 * Gator's first appearance in a series since the eighteenth series, albeit in a life lesson.
 * The first series since his introduction in the nineteenth series where Philip does not get an episode featuring him.
 * The first series to have double-length episodes since the nineteenth series.
 * Raul, Gina, Ace, Emerson and Cassia's first appearances in an episode, not counting the stock footage appearances of other international engines and The Mainland Diesels in the twenty-third series episode, Grudge Match.
 * The first series since the sixteenth series to have twenty episodes (not counting the double-length episodes).
 * Fernando's first speaking role in an episode and the first time he is referred to by name.
 * The first series in which Ryan appears, but does not speak since his introduction in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
 * The first series where Tom Stourton takes over for Alfie, as well for Rob Rackstraw taking over for Owen, replacing Nathan Clarke and Ben Small, respectively.
 * The first series to use the Flange BQ Bold font for title cards and credits, replacing the Sodor Bld font.
 * The first series where Thomas' friends from Sodor join him on his worldwide adventure.
 * The first series where Edward and Henry do not get individual speaking roles, despite singing.
 * The first series since the CGI switchover, and the third series overall to not feature Spencer.
 * The first series since the thirteenth series not to have a Christmas episode and to have only one winter episode.
 * Excluding The Pack spinoff series, this is the first time in the main series since the sixth in which at least two episodes are dedicated to members of the Sodor Construction Crew (with a total of three).
 * The first series since he became the narrator in King of the Railway not to feature Mark Moraghan in any way.
 * The first series that has an episode with David Stoten as the head writer.
 * The first series released in the 2020s in the US and the UK.
 * The first time the characters' names are credited with the voice actors to show who voiced which character and where the title "Featuring the voices of" is shown above the actors and character names.
 * The first series in which a one-word title has been used for an episode since the eighth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in Swedish since the fifteenth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in European Portuguese since the sixteenth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in Danish and Croatian since the nineteenth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in Norwegian since the twentieth series.
 * The first series not dubbed in Romanian, Slovenian, Serbian since the twenty-first series.
 * The first series that not use the Greek logo and title cards.
 * This series marks the only occurrences of a few things:
 * Jenny Packard's only appearance in full CGI.
 * The only series to feature Stefano and Brenda.
 * The only series where Henrietta does not appear.
 * The only series where Judy and Jerome appear, but do not speak since their introductions in The Adventure Begins.
 * The only series in which Duck, Ryan, Kevin and Sir Robert Norramby all appear in one episode each.
 * The only series in which Porter and Philip only speak in one episode each.
 * The only series where Paxton speaks in all of his appearances.
 * The only series where Stephen, Daisy, Skiff and Tamika do not appear since their respective introductions, or reintroduction in Daisy's case.
 * The only series not to have Maggie Ollerenshaw as part of the voice cast since she joined in the eighteenth series. It is also the only series not to have Tracy-Ann Oberman as part of the cast since she joined the voice cast in the twentieth series.
 * The only series since the nineteenth series where Rosie appears but does not speak with new livery, making this the only series since she joined the voice cast in Journey Beyond Sodor to not feature Nicola Stapleton.
 * The only series where the writer and director are shown at the same time, albeit the first to feature the "written by" card in uppercase letters.
 * The only series in which Thomas does not have any lead roles in episodes taking place on Sodor.
 * The only series was dubbed in Võro and aired on Kidzone TV and Kidzone TV Plus.
 * The only series has the Lee Jang-won as part of the voice cast for Lorenzo in South Korea.
 * The only series that not aired completely by Cartoonito in Italy.
 * The only series to feature Darcy in the original series.
 * This is the third series where Toby only speaks in one episode. The first being the seventh series and the second being the seventeenth series.
 * This is the second series where Norman speaks in all of his appearances, the first being in the seventeenth series.
 * This is the third series in which Spencer does not appear.
 * This series marks both Edward and Emily's least number of appearances in a series, with Edward only appearing in two episodes and Emily only appearing in four.
 * James is the only current Steam Team member not to gain a starring role this series.
 * Harriet Kershaw, Federico Trujillo, Monica Lopera, Francisco Labbe, Laura Cucurullo, Anna Francolini, Vincenzo Nicoli, Antonio Magro, Flaminia Cinque and Montserrat Lombard join the voice cast.
 * Every male engine character from Brazil appears and speaks in only one episode of this series with the exception of Fernando, who appears in two but still only has one speaking appearance.
 * Following the series' revamp, this is the first series to include double-length special episodes, such as the Digs and Discoveries two-part story arc episodes and Steam Team to the Rescue, along with the regular length episodes as a replacement for the hour-long specials.
 * As a rare move, a good majority of the episodes premiered in the US before reaching a UK broadcast.
 * There are three episodes set in Brazil, two episodes and mini-specials set in Italy, two episodes in India and one episode each set in China and Australia, with the remaining eleven episodes and one mini-special taking place on Sodor.
 * In Japan, so far, only ten episodes have been dubbed and aired in Japanese from 5th April 2020 to 3rd May 2020, but after 3rd May 2020, there has not been another episode from this series dubbed in Japanese until 8th, November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning the series was on hiatus from being dubbed on Japanese television in a total of 6 months and 5 days.
 * This is the third series not to have all episodes dubbed in Dutch, that being Steam Team to the Rescue, the first series being the seventeenth series and the second being the twentieth series.
 * In the Estonian, Võro, Latvian, Lithuanian and Baltic Russian dubs, UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.

Source

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Staffel 23 Temporada 23 העונה העשרים ושלוש Seria 23 pt-br:23ª Temporada Сезон 23 第23季