Main article: Other LanguagesEnglish is by no means the only language in which the series is broadcast in: After the huge successes of the first and second series, Britt Allcroft set another goal: bringing Thomas into the United States. Due to stricter broadcasting schedules, Britt had to create a half hour programme to go with the five and a half minute episodes. The result was Shining Time Station, starring Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor, which began airing in 1989. This was another hit for Allcroft and was the beginning of the "Thomas craze" in America. saw Andrew Brenner take over as head writer and Arc Productions take over the CG animations, animating the seventeenth series as well as all following series and specials until the end of the show. The seventeenth series also regained the initial twenty-six episode format and implemented a new writing style that promised to focus on the original charm and appeal of Thomas & Friends. This format was used with great success and a lot of fan approval. Ten episodes of the seventeenth series aired in the UK in June 2013 followed by five episodes in September/October 2013. Another episode aired in November and four more in December. Also released in Autumn 2013 was the seventh direct-to-DVD special, King of the Railway. The seventeenth series began airing on 7 October 2013 in the US. The remaining six episodes of the seventeenth series, featured on the Spills and Thrills DVD aired between July and November 2014 in the UK. In Autumn 2014, the eighteenth series aired and the following feature-length special, Tale of the Brave was released. The remaining six episodes of the eighteenth series featured on the Dinos and Discoveries DVD premiered in the UK in July 2015. If anyone ask about i'm planning to do the stories of them, well I might. But it's only a poster anyway.

In January 2016, three more episodes from the nineteenth series aired in the UK, followed by another five episodes in March 2016. March 2016 also saw the release of six more nineteenth series episodes released on the annual mini-tentpole, episodic release, Start Your Engines!. These episodes later aired in the UK in July 2016. A special 4-D theme-park exclusive production was released titled Thomas & Friends in 4-D: Bubbling Boilers on April 9, 2016 in Boston.

Japan: きかんしゃトーマス ( Kikansha Tōmasu), broadcast on Fuji Television (Series 1–8), TV Tokyo (Series 9–11, 13) and NHK (Series 14–24)

Presumably titled The Adventures of Thomas was the then second theatrical Thomas & Friends film that was planned for release. Little was ever known about this film and the full state of this film is still currently unknown. As of 2018, it has most likely been cancelled, since no new updates on the film have been announced.Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is the name of the television series based on the Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. It was adapted for television by Britt Allcroft using the original stories from the Railway Series before using original stories written by independent writers. The series has been broadcast in over 185 territories and has spawned twenty-four series, a theatrical film, and fourteen specials. The series was last produced by Mattel Creations taking over HiT Entertainment, who filmed the series since its acquisition of Gullane Entertainment in 2002. When the television series returned in 1991 with the third series, there were some big changes. Instead of following closely to the Railway Series, Allcroft and Mitton loosely adapted many of the Reverend's stories as well as loosely adapted magazine stories written by the current head writer Andrew Brenner (who unfortunately did not get credited for these adaptations), they even wrote their own episodes, much to the Reverend's disdain. The fourth series, airing in 1995, only had one original episode however and featured many new characters such as the Skarloey Railway engines. saw the first year to have two series, the thirteenth and fourteenth. Another feature length special, Misty Island Rescue, was released that Autumn. The fifteenth series premiered in early 2011 and the next direct-to-DVD special, Day of the Diesels, was released in Autumn 2011. During that October, Mattel won HiT Entertainment in an auction by Apax Partners, HiT's owners and in February 2012 the money was transferred. February 2012 also saw the premiere of the sixteenth series in the UK. It was the last series animated by Nitrogen Studios, the last to have Sharon Miller as the head writer and the final series to contain twenty episodes. Blue Mountain Mystery was released in September 2012. It was the last special to involve Nitrogen Studios and Miller. The buyer of Gullane Entertainment turned out to be HiT Entertainment and the eighth series, that aired in 2004, came with drastic changes. The episodes became more formulaic in plot with the focus on morals and education. Since the eighth series this format is still being carried out for all the following series with great success.

There are no characters that have appeared in every episode of the series, not even Thomas himself. However, the narrator seems to have lines in every single episode, despite not technically being a character. In 2005, the series ranked 26th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows vote. In 2013, the series ranked 34th in Channel 5's 50 Greatest Kids TV Shows vote. The first fully CG animated production was the 2009 direct-to-DVD special, Hero of the Rails, directed by Greg Tiernan. This was also the first time the engines and people had individual voice actors since Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The voice acting continued for all series and specials hereafter. Inspired byBrerdaniel'sMy Little Pony: The Disney Chronicles poster, I've thought I make own Disney Adventure Poster. This time with Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends and it won't be just Disney and Pixar, but also Star Wars, Marvel, the Muppetsand 20th Century Fox too.Thomas appears and speaks in every episode of the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth and nineteenth series. He also appears in every episode of the ninth, sixteenth and twentieth series, despite not speaking in all of them. However, starting from Big World! Big Adventures! and the twenty second series onwards, Thomas himself takes over the role of narration, telling it from his point of view. saw the broadcasting of the ninth series as well as the release of the first direct-to-DVD special, Calling All Engines! The tenth series aired in 2006 and was the only production to contain twenty-eight episodes unlike the usual twenty-six. The first broadcasting of the eleventh series took place in 2007 and this marked the final series to contain twenty-six episodes, until the seventeenth series. The second direct-to-DVD special, The Great Discovery was released in 2008 and this marked the final full live-action production. By now, the series was doing incredibly well and a full-length theatrical film soon loomed ahead. Britt Allcroft decided to drift completely away from Railway Series stories and in 1998, the fifth series, contained all original storylines, allowing Britt to showcase the series as her own before the upcoming film.