The Smurfs is an animated fantasy-comedy children's television series that originally aired on NBC from 12 September 1981 to 2 December 1989. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, it is based on the Belgian comic series of the same name, created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo and aired for 258 episodes with a total of 419 stories, excluding three cliffhangers episodes and seven specials episodes.