Tawny Knoll

Tawny Knoll is a childrens' animated television series that focuses on a large family of tawny-colored rabbits. The Tawnys (which also happens to be their family name), live in a rabbit-populated society that functions similar to the 20th Century British hierarchy system.

The series premiered on PBS Kids

Creation and first season (2013)
Annie Brinks pitched the series to PBS in the summer of 2012, and PBS picked the series up for the first two seasons, each with 50 eleven-minute episodes.

Production finished in April 2013, and the series premiered as part of PBS Kids Happy Fun Summer on May 13, 2013. For the entire first season, the characters were shown to be in summer.

Beginning on May 13, two new episodes were aired every weekday in a half-hour block. This "rapid fire" airing method allowed the first season to end quickly. Season 1 only aired for about a month, ending on June 13, 2013.

Second season (2013)
Production for Season 2 begun in May 2013, just as the first season begun airing. Season 2 was also ordered to have 50 episodes.

Season 2 premiered on September 23, 2013. Just like the first season, two new episodes aired every week day. However, no episodes aired on October 25, 28, 29, or 30. The final two episodes were postponed from airing until October 31, 2015, when they both aired as a two-part Halloween special.

PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for a third and fourth season on December 16, 2013.

Third season (2014)
PBS ordered 30 episodes for Season 3, which premiered on June 16, 2014. Just like the first two seasons, two new episodes aired every week day.

The final two episodes of Season 3 were aired as a two-part special on July 4, 2013.

Fourth season (2014)
Production for Season 4 begun in Summer 2014. PBS ordered 30 episodes. Just like the previous season, two new episodes aired every week day.

Season 4 premiered on November 17, 2014. It ended on December 5, 2014 with a two-part Christmas special.

On December 24, 2015, PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for a fifth season with 30 episodes.

Fifth season (2015)
Production for Season 5 begun in February of 2015.

Unlike the first four seasons, Season 5 aired two new episodes every Friday, instead of every week day. The other four days of the week were filled with pairs of reruns from previous seasons.

The first two episodes of Season 5 premiered on Friday, August 21, 2015. The season finale aired November 27, 2015.

PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for a sixth season on January 22, 2016 with 20 episodes.

Sixth season (2016)
Season 6 began production in early 2016. The season premiered on September 5, 2016. Unlike the previous seasons, only one new episode aired every weekday, instead of two. The twentieth and final episode of Season 6 aired on September 30, 2016.

On September 17, 2016, PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for Season 7, again with 20 episodes.

Seventh season (2017)
Production for Season 7 begun on December 8, 2016. On December 27, PBS announced that Tawny Knoll had been renewed for and eighth season as well. Production of Season 7 and Season 8 was simultaneous.

Season 7 premiered on April 10, 2016 and ended on April 21. Two new episodes were aired every weekday for two weeks, resulting in a total of 20 episodes for Season 7.

Eighth season (2017)
Tawny Knoll had been renewed for its seventh and eighth seasons about the same type, so Season 8 aired in the same year as Season 7. Season 8 was ordered 20 episodes.

Just like Season 7, two new episodes aired every weekday for two weeks. Season 8 premiered on October 9, 2017, and ended on October 21.

PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for both Season 9 and Season 10, each with 20 episodes, on November 30, 2017. On December 2, PBS announced that the orders for Season 9 and 10 had been combined to create Season 9 with a 40-episode order.

Ninth season (2018)
Season 9 premiered on March 5, 2018. Two new episodes aired every week day, ending on March 30.

After Season 9, episode 34 aired, PBS announced that Tawny Knoll had been renewed for a tenth season of 20 episodes.

Tenth season (2018)
Production of Season 10 begun in March 2018. The season premiered on August 6, and ended on August 31. One new episode, not two, aired every weekday.

On October 7, 2018, PBS announced that Tawny Knoll had been renewed for two more seasons, each with 20 episodes.

Eleventh season (2019)
Production of both Season 11 and Season 12 begun in December 2018.

Season 11 had 20 episodes. It premiered on February 18, 2019, and ended on March 1. Two new episodes aired every weekday. Season 11 was notable for featuring the death of Grandpa Tawny, who first moved to Berrywood in the Season 6 premiere, along with his wife, Grandma Tawny. Grandpa Tawny was diagnosed with cancer in the Season 11 premiere, "Grandpa Is Sick". He died in the twentieth and final episode of Season 11. This episode, "Losing a Loved One", was highly controversial, but received critical acclaim for its content and handling of grief.

Twelfth season (2019-20)
Season 12 had begun production in December 2018, originally ordered to have 20 episodes. After Season 11's positive reception, PBS ordered 12 more episodes for Season 12.

Season 12 was given a unique airing pattern. One new episode was aired every Friday, resulting in a much slower airing process than earlier seasons. Season 12 premiered on October 18, 2019, and ended on May 22, 2020.

In the season finale, the Tawny family moves from the small rabbits-only town of Berrywood to Newspring City, a largely population city with a more diverse range of species. This resulted in the exit of many regular characters who remained in Berrywood.

PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for a thirteenth season of 32 episodes.

Thirteenth season (2020-21)
Season 13 was a unique season, introducing a plethora of new characters, most of which were not rabbits.

Season 13 premiered on October 23, 2020. One new episode aired every Friday, and the season ended on May 28, 2021.

PBS renewed Tawny Knoll for Season 14 with 32 episodes in June 2021.

Fourteenth season (2021-22)
On August 22, 2021, PBS announced that the upcoming fourteenth season of Tawny Knoll would be the final season. Soon after this announcement, PBS increased the episode order to 50 episodes.

Season 14 premiered on September 17, 2021. One new episode aired every Friday. The final two episodes of the season were both aired on August 19, 2022 as a two-part finale. Both parts were 30 minutes, creating an hour-long event. The series finale was watched by 9.33 million people, the highest rated episode of the series.

The Tawny family returned to visit Berrywood in the series finale, but then they went bath to their townhouse in Newspring City. On this, executive producer Bennett Joel said: "Berrywood is there home. It will always be there home. Orginally, the script had the Tawnys remain in Berrywood and move back there. But I wrote that part out, because I think the move to the big city showed real maturity in this show and the characters. Real life changes. The Tawny family changes. So they still live in Newspring City."