The Netflix comedy series Man vs. Bee will star Rowan Atkinson as a character engaged in a small-scale interspecies war while on a housesitting job. The absurdism of the plot is reminiscent of Atkinson’s most famous role, Mr. Bean, and the potential similarities have caused speculation that the series may be Atkinson's reprisal of the beloved British character.
Man vs. Bee takes place over 10 episodes in total—standard for Netflix—with each episode running for only 10 to 20 minutes. The runtime, along with the snappy title and the series poster showing Atkinson with a spatula in hand facing off against his bee opponent, suggests this will be a very focused series, with no plot filler to distract from the hilarity of the main conflict. Atkinson co-created the series with William Davies, who he previously worked with for the successful Johnny English franchise. This means that the comedic style of Man vs. Bee may end up being more similar to the satire of Johnny English than it is to the physical comedy of Mr. Bean.
Despite speculation, Atkinson is not playing Mr. Bean in this new series. His character in Man vs. Bee is named Trevor, which cannot be Mr. Bean since it was confirmed in the 1997 film Bean that his first name really is "Mr". Atkinson last played Mr. Bean on-screen in the 2007 film Mr. Bean's Holiday, and apart from an appearance at the 2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremony, he has not shown much interest in reprising the role.
However, Atkinson's career has included a lot more than just his most goofy character creation, Mr. Bean. Since the start of his career in 1979, he has acted in various roles including in the popular series Love, Actually has shown his ability to command a screen even when he is only given a short period of time.
Atkinson won't be playing Mr. Bean in Man vs. Bee, but regardless the series is something to look forward to. Whether he is fleeing from the bee or hunting it down, Atkinson will be able to employ many of the same slapstick comedy techniques that he used throughout his time as Mr. Bean. The series is set to release on June 24, as part of Netflix's summer release program. Atkinson has also been confirmed to be part of the cast for the Willy Wonka prequel, Wonka, starring alongside Timothee Chalamet and Olivia Colman.
