ITV's Thunderbirds reboot gets second season

Thunderbirds are well and truly go, as next year's remake of the classic British kids' show has been given the go ahead for a full second season before the first even airs.

ITV has announced that 26 more half-hour episodes of

Thunderbirds Are Go! have been commissioned, which will air in the UK on its CITV channel over 2016 and 2017. The first episode for the new television series will premiere in Spring 2015.

Signing off on another season before audiences have had a chance to see the series at all may seem risky, but it does show confidence in the quality of the series. Thunderbirds has always been a perennial favourite too, resurging in popularity every few years. Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the original puppet series -- produced in a style dubbed "Supermarionation" -- aired from 1965, spawning two canonical movies, a largely unrelated

anime series, and an awful live-action film. The new version will launch as part of the series' 50th anniversary celebrations.

For the scant few who may be unaware, the series follows the Tracy family, who operate the humanitarian defence agency International Rescue. Piloting a variety of specialised high-tech vehicles launched from a secret island base and with a satellite in geostationary orbit, brothers Scott, Virgil, Gordon, John and Alan save lives on a global scale. With the aid of their London field agent Lady Penelope and her driver Parker, the organisation also battles arch-nemesis, The Hood.

The new series is a co-production between ITV Studios and New Zealand's Pukeko Pictures, which previously made childrens' series The Wotwots and

Jane and the Dragon. Weta Workshop will be providing additional effects work. It is intended to be a remake of the Andersons' series, updating the adventures of International Rescue for a modern audience and presented with a mix of live action and CGI.

Steve Green, EVP of Kids' Content and Distribution at ITV Studios, said of the early green light for a second season that "the unique mix of CGI animation and incredible model sets gives each episode of Thunderbirds Are Go a theatrical feel rarely seen in children's TV that has generated huge interest globally. Having 52 episodes of this quality takes our discussions to a new level."

Jamila Metran, Head of Programming for CITV, added "I am delighted to confirm that a second series of Thunderbirds Are Go has been commissioned for CITV. We are so excited for the launch of our reboot of the iconic children's show and look forward to bringing the adventures of the five Tracy brothers to our audiences in 2015."

The cast for Thunderbirds Are Go! includes Rasmus Hardiker, Rosamund Pike, and David Graham, who appeared in the original series. Little has been shown of the new version yet, though teasers and behind the scenes footage is beginning to appear on the [official

Thunderbirds YouTube page](https://www.youtube.com/user/officialthunderbirds).

This article was originally published by WIRED UK