Get Ready for Beat Bugs! Netflix Announces New Guest Artists, Renews Series for Second Season

Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson, Aloe Blacc, Robbie Williams, Frances, The Lumineers and Tori Kelly join other all-star musicians as featured cover artists in the original animated series inspired by the music of The Beatles

Beverly Hills, CA - July 27, 2016 - Netflix, Grace: A Storytelling Company (Grace), Thunderbird and Beyond Screen Production (Beyond) announced that seven more artists have signed on to participate in Beat Bugs, the new Netflix original series for kids that will bring families together over the music of The Beatles. Writer and Director Josh Wakely also confirmed today at the Netflix Television Critics Association panel that the animated show, premiering August 3, has been renewed for a second season, premiering worldwide November 18. Australian Netflix members will be able to enjoy both seasons on Netflix soon after their premiere on Seven Network.

Aloe Blacc, Robbie Williams, Frances and The Lumineers will join the Beat Bugs family this August, adding to an already celebrated set of singing talent that will help introduce the beloved catalogue of Beatles classics to a new generation. Covers by Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson and Tori Kelly will be featured in Season 2 this November.

Ahead of the show's premiere, Netflix also released its first full-length trailer for Beat Bugs, revealing the Season 1 artist and song pairings, and unveiling a new rendition of "All You Need is Love," the show's theme song.

Day and date with the show launch, Republic Records will release the official soundtrack for Season 1 of Beat Bugs exclusively with Apple Music. Split into two volumes, Season 1 will include a total of 27 tracks with the music from the series and special guest artists like P!nk, James Corden, Aloe Blacc, Sia and Eddie Vedder. On November 4, the Season 1 soundtrack will be made available to all retailers as well as a compilation album with the "Best of" Seasons 1 and 2. The Season 2 soundtrack will be released in November 2016 featuring 26 tracks from the show, along with a second group of outstanding guest musicians including Rod Stewart, Chris Cornell, Jennifer Hudson, Of Monsters and Men, James Bay and Tori Kelly. More information on the Season 2 soundtrack will be available soon.

Full list of participating contemporary artists (in order of show appearance):

Beat Bugs Season 1

P!nk: "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
James Corden: "I'm A Loser"
Aloe Blacc: "Rain"
Robbie Williams: "Good Day Sunshine"
Eddie Vedder: "Magical Mystery Tour"
Frances: "In My Life"
The Shins: "The Word"
The Lumineers: "Honey Pie"
Sia: "Blackbird"

Beat Bugs Season 2

Rod Stewart: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Chris Cornell: "Drive My Car"
Regina Spektor: "And Your Bird Can Sing"
Jennifer Hudson: "I'll Follow The Sun"
Of Monsters and Men: "Eleanor Rigby"
James Bay: "Hey Bulldog"
Tori Kelly: "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You"

Other hit songs to be featured in the Netflix original series and the soundtracks will include Beat Bugs renditions of Beatles classics like "Help," "Come Together," "Penny Lane," "Yellow Submarine," "We Can Work it Out," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Hello Goodbye" and "Across the Universe," among others.

Wakely's production company, Grace: A Storytelling Company, produced the Netflix original series Beat Bugs in conjunction with Beyond Screen Production and Thunderbird.

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About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with over 83 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About Grace: A Storytelling Company

Grace is a global independent film and television development and production banner led by filmmaker Josh Wakely. Grace's output is distinguished by innovation, and imaginative creative and business partnerships, combined to cultivate transformative storytelling. Based out of Australia and the US, Grace is committed to producing intelligent, elevated, talent-driven film and television projects to the worldwide audience.

About Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a Vancouver-based TV and film production company with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Thunderbird produces award-winning programming for Canadian and International markets through its group of companies, which includes Vancouver-based Reunion Pictures, Great Pacific Media and Atomic Cartoons, UK-based theatrical distributor Soda Pictures, and a joint venture with Lionsgate, Sea to Sky Studios, which is dedicated to creating quality scripted content for the US and International market.

About Beyond

Beyond International Limited (ASX:BYI) is a leading international producer and distributor of television and digital content and is one of the largest independent distributors of home entertainment product in Australia. The Company is headquartered in Sydney and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Beyond has produced over five thousand hours of television programs for broadcast internationally including Mythbusters, Taboo, Selling Houses Australia, Deadly Women and Facing Evil. The company has production offices in Sydney, San Francisco and Los Angeles and produces programs for Australian, US and international broadcasters. Beyond's international distribution business markets an extensive program catalogue sourced from third party producers and internal production. This business unit is headquartered in Dublin, with sale offices in London and Sydney. The Home Entertainment operation focuses on digital and DVD distribution and has an extensive catalogue of product, which is distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Digital Marketing business performs online search optimisation, website creation, development and performance and online media sales within Australia and New Zealand.

About Republic Records

A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists such as Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, Florence + the Machine, Gotye, James Blake, James Bay, John Mellencamp, Keith Richards, Nickelback, Of Monsters and Men, Seth MacFarlane, The Weeknd, Zendaya, among many others. Founded by brothers and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman, it is also comprised of innovative business ventures including American Recordings (The Avett Brothers), Brushfire (Jack Johnson), Cash Money (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj), John Varvatos Records (Zac Brown Band), Lava Records (Jessie J, Lorde), Monkeywrench (Pearl Jam), Casablanca Records (Stromae, T�esto), NBC's The Voice, School Boy Records (PSY, Sheppard), among others. In addition, Republic maintains a long-standing strategic alliance with country powerhouse Big Machine Label Group which is comprised of Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line) and Dot Records (Maddie + Tae).