Bunsen Is a Beast

Bunsen Is a Beast is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It revolves around a small eccentric blue monster named Bunsen who begins attending a middle school that previously only admitted humans. In spite of prejudice against beasts, Bunsen befriends a human boy named Mikey Munroe and his homeschooled companion, Darcy. Together, Bunsen and his friends attempt to navigate through school life while outsmarting a student named Amanda who wants to rid society of Bunsen's kind.

The show is based on a drawing of a monster and a boy that Hartman created in 2009. He originally considered writing a picture book featuring the characters, but decided against going forward with the idea until an executive from Nickelodeon saw the drawing and encouraged him to develop the concept into a television program. Prominent themes highlighted in the series include the positive aspects of social integration and the celebration of different cultures. Bunsen Is a Beast was Hartman's fourth and final animated series produced for Nickelodeon before his departure with the network, after The Fairly OddParents (2001–2017), Danny Phantom (2004–2007), and T.U.F.F. Puppy (2010–2015). It is also his only Nicktoon not to feature Grey Griffin or Rob Paulsen.

The first season, consisting of twenty-six episodes, was ordered by Nickelodeon in December 2015. The series had two runs on two different networks; Nickelodeon from January 16 to October 14, 2017, then Nicktoons from December 18, 2017, to February 10, 2018.