BBC Children’s and Education is partnering with long-time Horrible Histories producer Lion Television to launch a new spinoff comedy series called Horrible Science.

In production now to launch next year on CBBC and BBC iPlayer, the new show is inspired by British writer Nick Arnold’s 28-title book series, which has sold more than four million copies throughout the UK. 

BBC Children’s and Education director Patricia Hidalgo commissioned Horrible Science in response to demand from kids and families to learn about a new subject using the same comedy-driven formula that Horrible Histories pioneered and perfected.

Production on Horrible Science has just gotten underway, but episodes are planned to cover a wide range of empirical topics, including materials and states, earth and space, and forces and motion. It will also feature a variety of comedy sketches, from Sir Isaac Newton riding a rollercoaster, to a Tyrannosaurus Rex visiting the doctor, to the moon complaining that no one has visited in years.

The BBC is also creating branded supplemental education resources for teachers and students that will be available on its BBC Bitesize platform. These resources range from interactive games, quizzes and in-class activities, to 25 new curriculum-linked sketches tying into episodes from the series.