'Robbie the Reindeer' Once Again Startles Viewers With Adult Imagery in Christmas Special

CBS aired two Robbie The Reindeer specials on Saturday night, leading to the annual confusion on Twitter about the show. The specials are not meant exclusively for children, and the adult imagery in the shows left some viewers unprepared. The two stop-motion animated shows were originally produced in 1999 and 2002 and have been airing on CBS regularly during the holiday season since 2016.

Robbie the Reindeer was originally produced by the BBC and the charity Comic Relief. When CBS nabbed the American broadcasting rights in 2002, the dialogue was re-recorded with new actors, including Ben Stiller as the title character. Britney Spears, James Woods, Brad Garrett, Hugh Grant, Leah Remini, Jim Belushi, and the late Jerry Stiller. The first episode, Hooves of Fire," originally aired on the BBC in 1999, and the second, "Legend of the Lost Tribe," debuted in 2002. In 2007, there was a third special made using CGI animation, but it has never aired in the U.S.

CBS aired the first two specials between 2002 and 2005 and brought the shows back in 2016. Many of the viewers watching Saturday night were puzzled by the design of the female reindeers featured human breasts. One person called the special the "most disturbing looking Christmas thing I've ever seen."