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Thomas & Friends (series 22) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Thomas & Friends
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 26
Release
Original network Channel 5
Original release 3 September 2018 (2018-09-03) – 15 May 2019 (2019-05-15)
List of Thomas & Friends episodes

The 22nd season of the popular children's TV show Thomas & Friends is based on The Railway Series books. These books were written by Reverend W. Awdry. This season started airing in the UK on September 3, 2018. It then came to the US on September 17, 2018.

This season is now called Thomas & Friends: Big World, Big Adventures!. It brought big changes to the show. These were the first major changes since the show started using full computer animation (CGI) in its thirteenth season. Each episode is still eleven minutes long. However, they are now split into two parts. The first part is a seven-minute story. The other four minutes are for fun segments. These include sing-along songs, music videos, or Thomas talking to the audience. He often shares lessons learned in the episode.

About the Season

This season introduces two new train characters: Nia and Rebecca. A big change is that there is no longer a narrator. Instead, Thomas talks directly to the audience! The show also got a brand new theme song.

The story of this season happens right after the movie Big World! Big Adventures!. Episodes are divided into two main parts. In the first half, Thomas travels to different places around the world. In the second half, he is back home on the Island of Sodor. This season was available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu in the fall of 2018.

Who Voices the Characters?

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

Many talented actors lend their voices to the characters in this series. Here are some of the main voice actors listed in the credits:

Some characters are also very important, even if their voice actors weren't listed in the main credits:

  • Yvonne Grundy voices Nia. Nia is a friendly steam train from Kenya. Her design is based on a real East African Railways ED1 class train.
  • Rachael Miller voices Rebecca. Rebecca is a bright yellow steam train from mainland Britain. She looks like a Southern Railway West Country 4-6-2 Pacific steam train.

Episode Guide

This season has many exciting episodes! Here's a list of them:

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date TV Order
513 1 "Number One Engine" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 3 September 2018 (2018-09-03) 37a
Thomas is in China with An An and Lin Yong. He gets into trouble while racing Hong-Mei, another blue tank engine who is China's number one engine.
514 2 "Forever and Ever" Dianna Basso Andrew Brenner 4 September 2018 (2018-09-04) 37b
Many changes are happening on the railway. Edward and Henry are leaving Tidmouth Sheds, and Nia is staying in Edward's place. Gordon feels sad about this, so Nia helps him get used to the new changes.
515 3 "Confusion Without Delay" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 5 September 2018 (2018-09-05) 38a
A new engine named Rebecca comes to the North Western Railway. She is a bit clumsy! She blocks a platform, makes passengers late, and causes problems at Brendam Docks.
516 4 "Trusty Trunky" Dianna Basso Becky Overton 6 September 2018 (2018-09-06) 38b
Thomas is working in India and sees many animals. Ashima tells him that elephants used to help shunt trucks. When Thomas gets stuck, an elephant surprisingly comes to his rescue!
517 5 "What Rebecca Does" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 7 September 2018 (2018-09-07) 39a
Rebecca admires other engines' special abilities. She worries that she doesn't have anything special about her.
518 6 "Thomas Goes To Bollywood" Dianna Basso Becky Overton 10 September 2018 (2018-09-10) 39b
An action movie is being filmed on the Indian railway. Thomas really wants to be a part of it!
519 7 "Thomas in the Wild" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 11 September 2018 (2018-09-11) 40a
Yong Bao tells Thomas about pandas, China's national animal. Thomas looks hard for a panda in the bamboo forests while taking a film crew to the Nature Reserve.
520 8 "Thomas and the Monkey Palace" Dianna Basso Becky Overton 12 September 2018 (2018-09-12) 40b
Thomas is pulling coconuts to the Indian Railway Station. He meets some playful monkeys at the Monkey Palace, even though Rajiv warned him about them.
521 9 "An Engine of Many Colours"
"An Engine of Many Colors"		 Dianna Basso Michael White 13 September 2018 (2018-09-13) 41a
After a crash, James is waiting to be repaired. He worries he might not get repainted red. He dreams of being blue, green, or silver, and crashes in each dream while showing off.
522 10 "Outback Thomas" Dianna Basso Tim Bain 14 September 2018 (2018-09-14) 41b
Shane shows Thomas the Australian Outback. Thomas takes passengers on a tour but takes a wrong turn and gets stuck on a high bridge.
523 11 "School of Duck" Dianna Basso Lee Pressman 17 September 2018 (2018-09-17) 42a
A storm damages Harwick School. Duck tries to find a coach for the children but everyone is busy. He finds a broken coach, Dexter, and uses Reg's recycling idea to fix him.
524 12 "Tiger Trouble" Dianna Basso Becky Overton 18 September 2018 (2018-09-18) 42b
Ashima tells Thomas that tourists visit India to see tigers. Thomas wants to see them too. He learns about tiger hunters and works with Shankar to save the tigers.
525 13 "Seeing is Believing" Dianna Basso Andrew Brenner 19 September 2018 (2018-09-19) 43a
Thomas' friend Merlin visits Sodor for the first time. Percy really wants to see him.
526 14 "Apology Impossible" Dianna Basso Becky Overton 20 September 2018 (2018-09-20) 43b
James is mean to Philip and won't say sorry. When Philip's actions cause a big stop on the tracks, James learns that even small engines can make a big difference.
527 15 "The Water Wheel" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 21 September 2018 (2018-09-21) 44a
Thomas thinks his cargo is silly until Hong-Mei explains it's an important bamboo water wheel. Thomas loses it while taking a shortcut and tries to get it back.
528 16 "Samson and the Fireworks" Dianna Basso Lee Pressman 5 November 2018 (2018-11-05) 44b
Samson is scared of fireworks. He gets lost in the fog after mistaking a sound for fireworks. He then follows a fireworks display to find his way.
529 17 "Runaway Truck"
"Runaway Car"		 Dianna Basso Davey Moore 3 December 2018 (2018-12-03) 45a
Thomas tries to save a Troublesome Truck named Lei but fails. Yong Bao teaches Thomas about tai chi, which Thomas uses to rescue Lei when she runs away again.
530 18 "Thomas' Animal Ark" Dianna Basso Lee Pressman 10 December 2018 (2018-12-10) 45b
It's Christmas, and the Animal Park's boiler breaks down. Thomas and the Steam Team must find a way to keep the animals warm.
531 19 "Cyclone Thomas" Dianna Basso Tim Bain 17 December 2018 (2018-12-17) 46a
Thomas wants to be like Isla, a Flying Doctor's plane. He tries to help Dr. Claire but struggles. When a cyclone hits, Thomas is determined to save the day.
532 20 "Kangaroo Christmas" Dianna Basso Tim Bain 22 December 2018 (2018-12-22) 46b
Thomas is in Australia for Christmas and misses the snow from Sodor. He helps a girl get her toy kangaroo back from a real one.
533 21 "Thomas and The Dragon" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 5 February 2019 (2019-02-05) 47a
Thomas is scared when Yong Bao asks him to bring a dragon to the Chinese New Year celebrations. He thinks it will be a real fire-breathing dragon!
534 22 "Rosie is Red" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 14 February 2019 (2019-02-14) 47b
On Valentine's Day, Thomas and Rosie try to avoid each other after Diesel, Bill, and Ben tease them. But they must work together for Sir Topham Hatt's surprise.
535 23 "The Case of The Puzzling Parts" Dianna Basso Davey Moore 18 February 2019 (2019-02-18) 48a
Sidney is moving engine parts but can't remember what to do with them. Paxton thinks it's a mystery for a Special Agent to solve.
536 24 "Banjo and the Bushfire" Dianna Basso Tim Bain 19 February 2019 (2019-02-19) 48b
Thomas offers a ride to Ranger Jill in the Australian Rain Forest. He is excited to learn about the animals but is too loud and impatient to be helpful.
537 25 "Counting on Nia" Dianna Basso Lee Pressman 20 February 2019 (2019-02-20) 49a
Nia is very clever, but she has trouble reading numbers. Annie and Clarabel teach her how to count when she needs to pick up passengers.
538 26 "Hunt the Truck"
"Hunt the Car"		 Dianna Basso Michael White 15 May 2019 (2019-05-15) 49b
Bill and Ben hide trucks as a game. When they hide a van with Christmas supplies, they have to search all over Sodor to find it and return it.