Netflix and SEGA Developing New Sonic the Hedgehog Animated Series for Younger Audience

Speaking with Famitsu, Iizuka described the project specifically as a “kids animation”, adding that SEGA wants it to appeal to preschoolers and children in the younger years of elementary school.

“The one thing I can say is that it’s a ‘kids animation.’”

Iizuka also directly compared the new series with Sonic Prime and the Sonic movies, saying the aim is to reach a different group of viewers.

“We want to make something that younger children, such as lower elementary-school students and preschoolers, can enjoy.”

That gives the original “upper pre-school” description considerably more context. Rather than simply being another Sonic animated series with a slightly younger skew, SEGA is deliberately developing it for small children who sit below much of the audience targeted by Sonic Prime and the films.

No title, release date, animation studio, episode count or voice cast has been announced yet.

A brand-new Sonic the Hedgehog animated series is officially in development at Netflix, giving the Blue Blur another television outing following the three-season run of Sonic Prime.

Netflix and SEGA announced the project on September 14 as part of a wider collaboration covering several SEGA properties. The new Sonic series is being developed with Carlos Stevens and longtime SEGA producer Toru Nakahara, and is aimed at what Netflix calls an “upper pre-school” audience.

Rather than positioning it as a straightforward educational preschool show, Netflix’s description points toward something closer to a younger-skewing Sonic adventure. The company says the series will focus on Sonic and his friends as heroes, mixing fast-paced action and comedy with more emotional stories built around friendship and the appeal of being part of Sonic’s crew.

The project is separate from Sonic Prime, which concluded after three seasons and remains available on Netflix. The announcement specifically describes this as a new animated series, rather than another season or continuation of the previous show.

There are still plenty of blanks to fill in. Netflix and SEGA have not announced a title, release date, episode count, animation studio or voice cast, and nothing has been said about whether the series will follow the games’ continuity or establish another version of the Sonic universe.

The Sonic show forms part of a larger Netflix and SEGA slate that also includes live-action adaptations of Crazy Taxi and RGG Studio’s STRANGER THAN HEAVEN. Crazy Taxi is being written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, while Nakahara is also involved across the wider partnership.

For Sonic, this will be the franchise’s first newly announced Netflix animated project since Sonic Prime, but with a noticeably younger target audience. How far the series leans into familiar game characters, settings and stories remains to be seen once Netflix and SEGA start revealing more of the production.

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