See also: Dorothy the Dinosaur (TV Series), Emma! (TV Series), Lachy! (TV Series)
Following their successful series of videos and feature film, "The Wiggles" TV series of 13 episodes debuted in 1998. It began airing only in Australia, on free-to-air Seven/Prime Network. This would also be the Australian home to its second 26-episode series in 1999, after it debuted in the United Kingdom first on GMTV and in the United States on Fox Family. Around that time Disney Channel began airing The Wiggles series and specials in Australia on their Playhouse Disney block, where it would later be picked up for airing in the United States in 2001. Series 3 debuted in Australia in 2002, under the title "Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles!" This time it premiered on ABC1, where Series 4 & 5 ("The Wiggles Show!", 2005-2006) and Series 6 ("Wiggle and Learn", 2008) would also debut. These series ran 11-minutes on ABC Kids, totalling 52 episodes each, but would be combined into 26 episodes running 22-minutes on other networks (11-minute versions would air in the United States when it moved to Universal Kids, then known as PBS Kids Sprout).
After Wiggle and Learn, a morning block called Wiggly Waffle was introduced in 2009, in a joint production between ABC Kids in Australia and Sprout in the United States. In 2011, ABC Kids began airing a much shorter Wiggles series between shows, Wiggly Songtime! This series, running about 3 minutes per episode, focused on music videos, with new introductions.
With the new generation of Wiggles beginning in 2013, new Wiggles TV series have been produced for ABC Kids. However, they have not returned the sequence of adding, with their first two series, both called Ready, Steady, Wiggle!, being officially referred to as their own Series 1 and 2. The most recent series, Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle! (2017, which gained back to the 22-minute format), is also considered separate. Surrounding these series, Wiggly Songtime! returned on ABC Kids with songs from the current generation in 2013 and a similar 3 to 4-minute series called Wiggle Town! debuted in many countries in 2016. Currently, new series air on ABC Kids in Australia, Four in New Zealand, Universal Kids in the United States and Treehouse in Canada.
There are no official episodes titles for the beginning of each one apart from TV Series 3, although they might have been given out by The Wiggles themselves, as seen in the DVD and videotape back covers, guides, descriptions.
Trivia
- Sometimes this can be considered as a cross between Sesame Street and Teletubbies, because of the similar colours and the segments skits and songs in every episode, also because Series 1 and 2 had minor puppet characters like Henry's Underwater Big Band and The Mexican Lizards.
- Series 1 started out simple with 13 episodes each with 4 segments and 3 songs (although sometimes 2 songs if one had copyrights surrounding Raffi)
"The Wiggles" (1998-2008)
TV Series 1 (1998)
Main article: The Wiggles (TV Series 1)
This series features a very specific structure, as every episode would open with a song, then a Kaz the Cat segment, Wigglehouse segment, another song, a Henry the Octopus Puppet Show, Captain Feathersword's Pirate Show, one final song and a Chase scene playing during the credits. Reruns would replace Kaz the Cat segments with Kindergarten segments hosted by Dorothy the Dinosaur.
Songs seen in this TV Series are mostly from the 1998 remakes of Wiggle Time! and Yummy Yummy, as well as a 1997 concert and a few song clips made especially for this series.
TV Series 2 (1999)
Main article: The Wiggles (TV Series 2)
A more loose series with no specific segments or format to follow, but recurring elements do appear from episode to episode, as we see many characters and places in the Wiggles World.
Songs in this TV series came from Wiggle Time! and Yummy Yummy once again, as well as many from Toot Toot! and the concert later used in The Wiggly Big Show. A few exclusive song clips are used that are remakes of ones from Big Red Car and Wake Up Jeff!
While this series is often called "Wiggles World" by fans, this is again not the official title.
TV Series 3: Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles! (2002)
Main article: Lights, Camera, Action, Wiggles! (TV Series)
This series returns to a specific set of segments, this time with the theme of each Wiggle (and Captain Feathersword) hosting or being the subject of their own television program at Network Wiggles. Greg delivers Network Wiggles News, Murray teaches about instruments or learns about them from a guest in Music with Murray, Anthony oversees Anthony's Workshop, a Wiggle plays around with Captain's Magic Buttons, a game show contestant has to find Jeff in Where's Jeff?. In between are some Wiggly Community Service Announcements from the children who direct at Network Wiggles.
Songs seen in the series come from Wiggle Bay and Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins!, while many new music videos of pre-existing songs are exclusive to the series.
An alternate title for this series is "Network Wiggles", as this is what is used in the title card.
TV Series 4 & 5: The Wiggles Show! (2005-2006)
Main article: The Wiggles Show! (TV Series)
Series 4 marks a return to the Wigglehouse segment from TV Series 1 and introduces new segments like Sailing Around the World with Captain and his crew, Dorothy's Dance Class with Dorothy and the Wiggly Dancers and The Little Wiggles, though not all of these segments appear in the same episodes as one another. Songs featured in this series come from Top of the Tots, LIVE Hot Potatoes! and Sailing Around the World, among some exclusive song clips filmed outside.
Series 5 marks the first direct continuation of a previous Wiggles series, as it mostly follows the same format, although Dorothy's Dance Class has been replaced with Dorothy's Dancing Alphabet and a new segment appears called Jeff's Animal Adventures. Songs seen in this series are from Here Comes The Big Red Car, It's Time to Wake Up Jeff! and the Santa's Rockin'! Tour, as well as songs from other videos and albums filmed alongside a beach for this series. Some of these songs and Wigglehouse segments were compiled into a video called Splish Splash Big Red Boat, which was also released in 2006.
TV Series 6: Wiggle and Learn (2008)
Main article: Wiggle and Learn (TV Series)
The first (and only) full-length Wiggles series to feature Sam as the yellow Wiggle and the last to feature Murray and Jeff as official Wiggles. There are no specifically named segments, though there are some recurring segments: scenes filmed in or outside Wigglehouse or at Captain Feathersword's Dock, scenes with Dorothy and Wags outside Wags' World, painting with Murray and Jeff and a character (usually Captain Feathersword) guessing what Anthony is dressed as. As the name would suggest, the series is somewhat more educational than the previous series, though it's not the overall focus of every segment or very many of the songs.
Unlike the previous series, there are no songs filmed at a concert, or any songs exclusive to the series (not counting short songs sung during segments). Songs from Getting Strong!, Pop Go The Wiggles!, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and Sing a Song of Wiggles are featured.
In early 2006, before Greg's retirement, at least part of Wiggle and Learn was filmed with Greg, as revealed in a post on The Wiggles' Facebook in 2015. The post teased a documentary to be released in 2016 for the 25th anniversary which would include footage from this unused/unreleased series, but as of 2020, it seems to have been cancelle.
Other Wiggles Series (2013-present)
Ready, Steady, Wiggle! TV Series 1 & 2 (2013-2015)
Main article: Ready, Steady, Wiggle! (TV Series)
The first series to feature Lachy, Simon and Emma. Segments include Wigglehouse, Anthony's Alphabet, Live at Wigglehouse and Wiggly Community Announcements. Songs seen in the series include ones from Taking Off!, Furry Tales, Pumpkin Face, Wiggly Songtime (2013) and the Taking Off! Tour.
Series 2, which debuted in New Zealand on 15 September 2014 before premiering in Australia on 12 January 2015, has Anthony's Alphabet replaced with Professor Simon's Alphabet and Wiggly Community Announcements do not reappear. Songs from the same videos as the previous series are again seen here, as well as songs from Go Santa Go!, Apples & Bananas and Wiggle House. Concert songs from Wiggly Songtime! (apart from those used in previously mentioned videos) and the Taking Off! Tour has been replaced with ones filmed on Australia Day 2014 in Hyde Park.
Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle! (2017-2018)
Main article: Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle! (TV Series)
Like Series 2 of Ready, Steady, Wiggle!, this series premiered in another country, this time Treehouse in Canada on 23 September 2017. It began airing on Universal Kids in the United States on 9 October 2017 and it finally began airing in Australia on 26 January 2018. Episodes once again have no specific structure and very few recurring segments, notable exceptions being the Carnival of the Animals and the return of The Little Wiggles.
For the very first time, no songs featured in this series came from existing Wiggles videos, all were created for this series. Even live videos are unique, despite being from the same concerts used in the Wiggle Town! short series and Wiggle Around Australia DVD, songs do not return from either. For the first time since the original Wiggles TV Series 1, no music videos are ever repeated, although the same songs do appear more than once in a different form. However, a few music videos would reappear (often with minor differences) on the video Nursery Rhymes 2.
The Wiggles' World (2020)
Main article: The Wiggles' World (TV Series)
The first series to feature Shirley Shawn the Unicorn. Segments include Emma's Weather Bag, Music With Anthony!, Lachy's Curly World, Story Time With Simon, Live At Wiggly Arena! and The Little Wiggles.
Short Series (1997-2016)
Let's Wiggle (1997)
Main article: Let's Wiggle
Debuting some time before TV Series 1, this was a series of individual Wiggles song clips either taken from their studio videos or filmed live in concert.
It was featured during shows such as The Book Place on Seven Network.
Wiggly Waffle (2009-2013)
Main article: Wiggly Waffle
A morning block hosted by The Wiggles in interstitial segments, with recurring elements including The Fifth Wiggle, where a child's face would appear on a green-skivvied dancer performing alongside them, Days of the Week, where a song about the new day would be sung and Have a Laugh! with Captain Feathersword.
Although produced for Sprout in the United States, it also aired in Australia on ABC Kids.
Wiggly Songtime! (2011-2013)
Main article: Wiggly Songtime!
In the first set of episodes from 2011, songs from Sam-era videos and concerts are featured, with new introductions from The Wiggles and their friends.
In 2013, the series returned with the next generation of Wiggles, with most episodes featuring songs from a performance held by the then-new Wiggles in their studio. Other episodes contain music videos from their first video, Taking Off!
In addition to airing on ABC Kids in Australia, it was prominently featured on Wiggle Time TV, a video subscription service on the now-defunct Wiggle Time! website. 2013 episodes were available for a time on Sprout's website in the United States.
Wiggle Town! (2016)
Main article: Wiggle Town! (TV Series)
Similar to Wiggly Songtime!, episodes mostly focus on music videos, though there is a sole recurring segment, Two Fine Gentlemen. There are no scenes of spoken dialogue (without adding spoken parts during songs or concerts). Songs appear from the video of the same name, Rock & Roll Preschool and Dance Dance! before its DVD release, as well as The Wiggles BIG SHOW! & CinderEmma concert and songs that have been recently performed filmed on a new set.