{"id":3784,"date":"2026-06-17T18:19:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kikis-delivery-service-live-action-bbc-studios-kadokawa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T18:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T10:19:26","slug":"kikis-delivery-service-live-action-bbc-studios-kadokawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/kikis-delivery-service-live-action-bbc-studios-kadokawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiki’s Delivery Service Is Getting a Live-Action Series from BBC Studios and Kadokawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forty years after Eiko Kadono first put Kiki on a broomstick, BBC Studios and Kadokawa have announced the first-ever live-action TV adaptation of Kiki’s Delivery Service<\/em> \u2014 and it is being built for a global audience from day one.<\/p>\n

\"Kiki's
Image courtesy of BBC Studios \/ Kadokawa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What’s Been Announced<\/h2>\n

BBC Studios Kids & Family, UK production company Wheel in Motion, and Japan’s Kadokawa Corporation announced their three-way co-production on 16 June. The series is planned as 10 episodes running approximately 30 minutes each \u2014 roughly five hours of new Kiki content, compared to the Ghibli film’s 102 minutes. The story will be drawn primarily from the first volume of Kadono’s six-book novel series.<\/p>\n

Importantly, the series is based on the original novel<\/em>, not the 1989 Studio Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Both draw from the same source material, but approaching the story fresh from Kadono’s books gives the creative team room to explore angles the Ghibli adaptation never took.<\/p>\n

Who Is Making It<\/h2>\n

Irena Brignull \u2014 whose credits include the Oscar-nominated stop-motion film The Boxtrolls<\/em>, Sky’s Skellig<\/em>, and Netflix’s The Little Prince<\/em> \u2014 is attached as series writer. No director, cast, or production timeline has been confirmed at this stage.<\/p>\n

Grainne McNamara, Head of BBC Studios Kids & Family, said in the announcement<\/a>: “We are thrilled to be part of a collaboration to bring Kiki’s Delivery Service to life for a new generation on a global stage.”<\/p>\n

Takeo Kodera, Kadokawa’s Director of International Co-Productions, called the partnership<\/a> “a more exciting tribute to the landmark 40th anniversary of this classic book series than we could have imagined.”<\/p>\n

Original author Eiko Kadono added: “Kiki is about to set off on another adventure into a new world. I’m confident this will be a great show.”<\/p>\n

Series writer Brignull summed up the appeal: “Kiki is one of fiction’s great girl characters, embodying the magic that exists in re-invention and human connection.”<\/p>\n

40 Years of Kiki<\/h2>\n

Kadono’s original novel was first published in 1985 by Fukuinkan Shoten. The Ghibli adaptation arrived four years later and introduced the young witch to international audiences \u2014 including many Singapore viewers who grew up watching her navigate the port town of Koriko. The film became one of Ghibli’s most beloved works and helped define what a coming-of-age story could look like in animation. This live-action series is timed specifically to mark the novel’s 40th anniversary.<\/p>\n

No Release Date or Streaming Platform Yet<\/h2>\n

This is an early development announcement \u2014 no network, streaming platform, release window, cast, or director has been named. BBC Studios Kids & Family productions have historically reached global audiences through major streaming platforms, but nothing is confirmed for Singapore yet. Given the three-way international co-production setup, a wide Asian streaming release seems a reasonable expectation \u2014 just not a guarantee at this point.<\/p>\n

Last Words<\/h2>\n

For Singapore fans who grew up watching Kiki cross rooftops and navigate an unfamiliar city, this announcement is a big deal \u2014 even if the details are still months away. A BBC Studios and Kadokawa partnership “for a global stage” reads as a genuine attempt to build something international, not just a localised reboot. We will track casting and streaming news as they emerge. In the meantime, find more of our anime and manga coverage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BBC Studios, Kadokawa, and Wheel in Motion are developing a 10-episode live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service series to mark the beloved novel’s 40th anniversary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[25],"tags":[68,301,302,300,303],"class_list":["post-3784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manga-anime","tag-anime","tag-bbc-studios","tag-kadokawa","tag-kikis-delivery-service","tag-live-action"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/kikis-delivery-service-live-action-bbc-kadokawa.webp?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p13AlF-Z2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6524,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/konosuba-season-4-studio-engi-2027\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":0},"title":"KonoSuba Season 4 Gets Studio ENGI and 2027 Premiere at 10th Anniversary Event","date":"July 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"KonoSuba Season 4 heads to Kadokawa-backed studio ENGI with a 2027 broadcast \u2014 full staff revealed today at the franchise's 10th anniversary event in Yokohama.","rel":"","context":"In "Manga Anime"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/konosuba-10th-anniversary-key-visual.png?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3954,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/higurashi-when-they-cry-new-tv-anime-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":1},"title":"Higurashi: When They Cry Gets a New TV Anime \u2014 20 Years On","date":"June 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A new Higurashi: When They Cry TV anime has been announced, with Studio DEEN and the original cast returning 20 years after the original 2006 series. 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