New Netflix Shows for Kids: Sesame Street, Gabby's Dollhouse & Puppy Pirates!

Sep 20

8 min read

If your household's remote control has been permanently annexed by a toddler, you're going to want to sit down for this one. Netflix just laid out its next wave of preschool and kids programming, and it's a big one: more Sesame Street than we've seen in years, a new sister series for Gabby's Dollhouse, a crew of seafaring pups, and a fresh batch of games your kids can play without you handing over your phone.

We read through Netflix's official announcement on its Newsroom site so you don't have to, and we're breaking down every new Netflix show for kids in 2026 that's actually confirmed — what's coming, when it lands, and which parts are worth getting excited about (spoiler: most of it). We'll also get into a few practical questions LA parents tend to ask us whenever a streaming service announces a pile of new kids' content at once — like whether more screen time options is even a good thing, and how to keep it from turning into a free-for-all.

New Netflix Shows for Kids in 2026: The Big Picture

Before we get into the individual shows, it's worth noting the scale here. According to Netflix, kids and family viewing made up 15% of the platform's total view hours in the first half of 2026, and family content has racked up 106 billion hours of viewing since the start of 2023. That's not a small side hustle — it's a core part of why Netflix keeps showing up in your "continue watching" row between your own shows.

Heather Tilert, Netflix's Vice President of Animation Series for Kids and Preschool, framed the strategy as building out "a slate of favorite-worthy series, films, and games to serve kids at every age and stage of their development." In practice, that means Netflix isn't just adding random new titles — it's expanding the franchises families already trust (Sesame Street, Gabby's Dollhouse) while testing out a few brand-new ones (Puppy Pirates) to see what sticks.

More Sesame Street Is Officially on the Way

This is the headline for a lot of parents, and for good reason. Sesame Street isn't going anywhere — it's actually expanding. Netflix has extended its series deal with Sesame Workshop, which means new seasons of the show are locked in through Season 62. For a series that's been a comfort-watch staple for generations of families, that's a meaningful commitment.

Here's the near-term timeline parents can actually plan around:

Season 57, Volume 4 arrives November 23.
Volumes 5 and 6 of Season 57 are coming sometime in 2027.
Mecha Builders, a licensed CGI-animated series connected to the Sesame Street universe, premieres October 26.

On top of the new seasons, Netflix confirmed it's in development on a Sesame Street film with the production company Rideback and Sesame Workshop. There's no release date attached yet, so we'll treat that one as "coming eventually" rather than something to circle on the calendar just yet.

Gabby's Dollhouse Gets a New Sister Series (and a Baking Competition)

If Gabby's Dollhouse is already on heavy rotation in your house, get ready for more real estate on your watchlist. Gabby's sister, Doozie, is stepping into the spotlight with her own mixed-media companion series, Doozie's Doghouse, premiering November 9. Netflix describes it as packed with "tail-wagging surprises" and imaginative play — basically, more of the crafty, cat-and-dollhouse-adjacent charm that made the original show a hit, but centered on Gabby's dog-loving sibling.

Then, on December 9, things get a little more competitive with Gabby's Dollhouse: Makers and Bakers. This is a four-episode holiday special hosted by Laila Lockhart Kraner as Gabby, in which young baker-and-maker duos take on crafting and baking challenges. The judges' panel is a fun one for parents who'll recognize the names: Aidy Bryant, Justin Willman, and Melissa Villaseñor. Netflix says more episodes of this format will follow in 2027.

For context on just how big this franchise has become: Gabby's Dollhouse Seasons 1 through 13 have racked up more than 670 million views since 2024, and Season 14 recently debuted at #4 on Netflix's Global Top 10 list, landing in the top 10 in 63 countries. If your child hasn't discovered it yet, know that you're statistically in the minority.

Puppy Pirates Sets Sail for Preschoolers

The one genuinely new title in this announcement is Puppy Pirates, created by Matthew Fernandes. The premise is about as preschool-friendly as it gets: four "heroic hounds" sail the high seas, fetching whatever's been lost — treasure, favorite stuffies, you name it. Netflix hasn't shared a specific premiere date in this announcement, so we'd treat it as "coming soon" rather than something to add to the calendar just yet, but it's worth keeping an eye out for if your kids are into pirates, dogs, or (like most three-year-olds) both at once.

Bad Dinosaurs Is Back for Two More Seasons

Good news if dinosaurs are currently the center of your child's universe: Bad Dinosaurs, created by Joel Veitch, Alex Mallinson, and David Shute, has been renewed for two more seasons — Season 2 and Season 3 — with eight episodes each. Since its debut in 2024, Season 1 spent five weeks on Netflix's Global Top 10 and has accumulated nearly 55 million views. No premiere date for the new seasons was included in the announcement, so consider this confirmed-but-not-yet-scheduled.

New Games Are Coming to Netflix Playground

Here's a detail that's easy to miss if you're only paying attention to shows: Netflix Playground, the mobile gaming app included with every Netflix membership, is getting three new games:

A new Trash Truck mobile game launches October 27, reuniting kids with Hank and the Trash Truck crew.
Numberblocks: Hide and Seek arrives September 29, aimed at counting skills.
KPop Demon Hunters: Ready, Set Shine is also available starting September 29.

A quick refresher on how Netflix Playground works, since it's genuinely one of the better-designed features Netflix has rolled out for families: it's built for kids ages 8 and under, there are no in-app purchases or extra fees beyond your existing Netflix membership, and every game is playable offline once downloaded. That last part is worth remembering — Playground has become the go-to save-your-sanity tool for flights, long car rides to Palm Springs, or the inevitable wait at a restaurant table. Since launch, it's reportedly ranked among Netflix's top 10 most-played mobile games every week.

A New Low-Stimulation Collection and Curated Playlists

This might be the most quietly useful update in the whole announcement, especially for parents of very young kids or kids who get overstimulated easily. Netflix has launched a low-stimulation collection designed to surface shows and movies with slower pacing, softer visuals, and simple, predictable stories. It includes titles like Trash Truck, Puffin Rock, and Llama Llama. If you've ever sat through a fast-cut, sound-effect-heavy kids' show and felt your own nervous system get a little frazzled, this collection is worth bookmarking — it's essentially Netflix doing the curation work that a lot of parents have been doing manually for years.

Netflix also rolled out two new curated, auto-play playlists:

The All-Star Preschool Playlist, aimed at the youngest viewers.
The Ultimate Kids Playlist, geared toward kids ages 5 to 8.

Both playlists auto-play continuous episodes — one ends, the next starts — which cuts down on the "what do you want to watch" negotiation that can eat up ten minutes of screen time before anyone's actually watched anything.

Bedtime Stories with Netflix Jr. Gets a New Episode

On the audio side, Netflix's award-winning podcast Bedtime Stories with Netflix Jr. released a new episode featuring a story from The Creature Cases, designed to help little ones wind down and drift off to sleep. The series is billed as being backed by real sleep science, and it's racked up more than 19 million listens across podcast platforms and the Netflix Jr. YouTube channel. It's available right in the Netflix app, which makes it an easy one to try if bedtime routines are a nightly negotiation in your house.

What This Means for Age-Appropriateness and Parental Controls

With this much new content landing at once, it's a good moment to revisit Netflix's parental controls rather than assume the defaults are doing enough. Netflix highlighted several tools parents can use to keep viewing age-appropriate:

Individual kids' profiles with age-appropriate content settings.
Customizable maturity settings per profile.
Title-level blocking, so you can restrict a specific show or movie even if it technically fits the maturity setting.
Profile lock PINs to keep grown-up profiles for grown-ups.
Viewing history and activity tools, so you can see what's actually been watched.
The option to disable autoplay entirely, which is a small setting that makes a surprisingly big difference in how long a "one episode" request turns into.

We've gone deeper on setting these up in our guide to parental controls and child safety on Netflix if you want a full walkthrough.

Screen-Time Tips for LA Parents

A wave of new kids' content is genuinely nice to have, but it also raises the same question every new streaming announcement does: how much of this should actually make it into your family's rotation? A few things we tell parents who ask us this:

Treat new releases as an addition, not an expansion. If Doozie's Doghouse or Puppy Pirates joins the lineup, consider swapping it in for something else rather than just adding more total screen time. It sounds obvious, but it's easy to let a new premiere quietly extend the day's viewing window.

Use the low-stimulation collection strategically. If you've got a car ride to a grandparent's house in Orange County, or you're trying to wind a child down before a nap, the new low-stimulation collection is a genuinely useful tool — pick from it instead of whatever's algorithmically recommended.

Preview before you commit, especially with new titles. Puppy Pirates and Doozie's Doghouse are new enough that there isn't a long track record yet. Watching the first episode alongside your kid, rather than handing over the remote and walking away, is worth the ten minutes.

Let games count as "screen time" too. Netflix Playground is well-designed and ad-free, which makes it easy to think of it as a freebie. It's still a screen. Treat the new Playground titles the same way you'd treat a new show when it comes to setting limits.

Takeaway

Netflix's kids and preschool lineup is getting a serious refresh over the next several months: more Sesame Street through Season 62, a new Gabby's Dollhouse spinoff in Doozie's Doghouse, a holiday baking special, an all-new pirate-dog series, two more seasons of Bad Dinosaurs, three new Netflix Playground games, and a genuinely useful low-stimulation collection for sensitive or very young viewers.

None of it requires an upgraded plan or a new subscription — it's all part of the existing Netflix membership most LA families already have. The real work on your end is deciding what actually earns a spot in your kid's rotation, and using the parental control tools Netflix already provides to keep that decision in your hands rather than the algorithm's.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the new Sesame Street content arrive on Netflix? Season 57, Volume 4 premieres November 23, 2026. Volumes 5 and 6 of that season are set for 2027, and the related series Mecha Builders arrives October 26, 2026. A separate Sesame Street film is in development but doesn't have a release date yet.

What is Doozie's Doghouse, and when can we watch it? Doozie's Doghouse is a new mixed-media companion series to Gabby's Dollhouse, centered on Gabby's sister Doozie. It premieres November 9, 2026.

Is Gabby's Dollhouse: Makers and Bakers a full new season? Not quite — it's a four-episode holiday special premiering December 9, 2026, hosted by Laila Lockhart Kraner and judged by Aidy Bryant, Justin Willman, and Melissa Villaseñor. Netflix says more episodes in this format are planned for 2027.

What age group is Puppy Pirates aimed at? Netflix describes Puppy Pirates as a preschool series. An exact premiere date wasn't included in the announcement, so keep an eye on Netflix's new releases if your child is in that age range.

What's the difference between Netflix's regular kids' profiles and Netflix Playground? Kids' profiles control what shows and movies are visible and playable based on maturity settings. Netflix Playground is a separate mobile gaming app included with any Netflix membership, built for kids 8 and under, with no in-app purchases and offline play once a game is downloaded.