Mattel-owned HIT Entertainment has greenlit a second season and a 60-minute special for its reimagined CG-animated Bob the Builder preschool series.

With the first season set to launch later this year on Channel 5’s Milkshake! (UK) and PBS KIDS (US), and from early 2016 on Super RTL (Germany) and Televisa (Mexico), the second season (52 x 11 minutes) is set for delivery in 2016, with an hour-long special following in 2017.

Looking to build on the momentum of the show’s initial launch this year, an additional 43 x two-minute digital shorts will be released on YouTube in August.

Produced at HIT’s UK headquarters, with animation services from Canadian-based digital animation company Mainframe, the show’s voice cast features Lee Ingleby (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Inspector George Gently) as Bob, Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) as Wendy, and Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners) as Scoop.

The renovated series sees the return of the show’s main characters, along with new ones such as Leo the apprentice, Mayor Maria Madison and youth sports club The Spring City Rockets. It will also feature more relatable locations and construction projects, as well as a larger role for the team’s electrical engineer Wendy.