Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series

Children's television series

Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...

, first broadcast on the ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film. The first 12 Series were filmed at Shepperton Studios

Shepperton Studios

Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...

, England between 1984 and 2008, with production now in CGI at Nitrogen Studios in Canada from 2009 onward.

It is based on The Railway Series

The Railway Series

The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...

 of books by the Reverend W.