Picture Credit: Steve and Maggie
The first collection of episodes is due to touch down on August 3rd, 2026, but only in a handful of countries, with those being the United Kingdom, Ireland, and additional smaller UK territories.
Netflix’s march into partnering with major YouTube kids stars has been ongoing for the past five or six years now, beginning with some of the big animated channels like Cocomelon and ramping up further in recent years with stars like Mark Rober (who Netflix has licensed several titles as well as producing a new series called Schooled!) and Ms. Rachel, plus more recent partnerships with Salish & Jordan Matter and the Stoke Twins.
Clearly, when Netflix identifies a built-in audience on the Google-owned video platform, they’re eager to license that brand to keep little eyes glued to their own app.
For those without toddlers running around the house, Steve and Maggie might have completely flown under your radar. But in the booming world of kids’ “edutainment,” the duo is a massive hit. Starring high-spirited human host Steve and his cheeky, magical puppet friend Maggie Magpie, the channel boasts well over 7 million subscribers and billions of lifetime views. Originally starting out as a tool to teach English to young children using the interactive “Wow! Method,” the show has exploded into a global phenomenon full of catchy songs, colorful sketches, and plenty of toddler-friendly slapstick humor.
Now, Netflix is getting in on the action. The new collection of Steve and Maggie episodes dropping on August 3rd will bring the beloved characters directly to UK and Ireland libraries, giving parents a heavily requested ad-free option to keep their kids entertained over the summer holidays.
It’s an interesting, albeit calculated, acquisition for the streaming service. Much like their licensing of Blippi and Little Angel, bringing Steve and Maggie to Netflix gives the platform a tested, proven property. These YouTube-native shows are notoriously sticky with younger audiences; toddlers love the repetition and familiarity, while parents appreciate the educational foundation—and the ability to skip YouTube’s unpredictable recommendation algorithm.
Steve and Maggie is already well available beyond just YouTube, with partnerships already in place with Prime Video, Tubi, Happy Kids, NBC, and Roku.
So, why only the UK and Ireland for now? We have seen Netflix frequently trial kids’ programming in specific, localized regions before expanding to a wider global rollout, heavily depending on initial viewership metrics or in some cases, just keep locally produced titles just for their respective regions. Given the sheer scale of the Steve and Maggie fanbase, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them eventually land on Netflix US and beyond if the UK numbers are as strong as expected.
For now, UK parents can mark their calendars for early August. Steve and his feathery friend are arriving just in time to provide some much-needed distraction.
Are your kids fans of Steve and Maggie? Will you be checking out their adventures when they land on Netflix UK? Let us know in the comments down below!
