Mr. Bean is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consisted of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson, alongside Curtis and Robin Driscoll; for the pilot, it was co-written by Ben Elton. 14 of the episodes were broadcast on ITV, beginning with the pilot on 1 January 1990,[1] until "The Best Bits of Mr. Bean", a compilation episode, on 15 December 1995. The fourteenth episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", was not broadcast on television, until 25 August 2006 on Nickelodeon.[2]
Based on a character originally developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at Oxford University, the series follows the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body", in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process.[3] Bean rarely speaks, and the largely physical humour of the series is derived from his interactions with other people and his unusual solutions to situations. The series was influenced by physical performers such as Jacques Tati and comic actors from silent films.[3]
During its five-year run, Mr. Bean was viewed by as many as 18.74 million for the 1992 episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean".[4] The series has received a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or. The show has been sold in 245 territories worldwide and has inspired an animated cartoon spin-off, and two feature films, along with Atkinson reprising his role as Mr. Bean for a performance at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, a commercial for Snickers in 2014, and a number of sketches for Comic Relief.