The Sheep Detectives
A new breed of mystery.
2026 | 109m | English
Popularity: 88 (history)
| Director: | Kyle Balda |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Leonie Swann, Craig Mazin |
| Staring: |
| George Hardy is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can't possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers. | |
| Release Date: | Apr 30, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Kyle Balda |
| Writer: | Leonie Swann, Craig Mazin |
| Genres: | Comedy, Family, Mystery |
| Keywords | based on novel or book, shepherd, investigation, murder, aftercreditsstinger, murder mystery, investigate, talking animal |
| Production Companies | Three Strange Angels, Working Title Films, Lord Miller, Amazon MGM Studios |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $60,060,321
Budget: $75,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: May 22, 2026 Entered: Nov 23, 2025 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Hugh Jackman | George Hardy |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Lily (voice) |
| Emma Thompson | Lydia Harbottle |
| Nicholas Braun | Tim Derry |
| Nicholas Galitzine | Elliot Matthews |
| Molly Gordon | Rebecca Hampstead |
| Bryan Cranston | Sebastian (voice) |
| Chris O'Dowd | Mopple (voice) |
| Hong Chau | Beth Pennock |
| Tosin Cole | Caleb Merrow |
| Kobna Holdbrook-Smith | Reverend Hillcoate |
| Conleth Hill | Ham Gilyard |
| Regina Hall | Cloud (voice) |
| Patrick Stewart | Sir Ritchfield (voice) |
| Brett Goldstein | Reggie / Ronnie (voice) |
| Rhys Darby | Wool-Eyes (voice) |
| Bella Ramsey | Zora (voice) |
| Laraine Newman | Fainting Sheep (voice) |
| Tommy Birchall | Winter Lamb (voice) |
| Mandeep Dhillon | Postwoman Jo |
| Isha Agarwal | Pickles (voice) |
| Aroop Shergill | Daisy (voice) |
| Jasper Ambrose | Oliver (voice) |
| Sarah Flind | Tonia (voice) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Leonie Swann | Novel |
| Rosa Dias | Costume Design |
| Graham Page | Visual Effects Supervisor |
| Tania Blunden | Post Production Supervisor |
| Caroline Barclay | Supervising Art Director |
| Phil Arntz | Aerial Director of Photography |
| Kyle Balda | Director |
| Charlotte Dirickx | Set Decoration |
| Katie Brydon | Casting Associate |
| Carlos De Carvalho | Second Unit Director of Photography |
| George Steel | Director of Photography |
| Sharon Martin | Hair Designer, Makeup Designer |
| Paul Kennington | Stunt Coordinator |
| Lucy Bevan | Casting |
| Nina Rice | Sound Mixer |
| Suzie Davies | Production Design |
| Paul Machliss | Editor |
| Rachael Evelyn | Stunt Double |
| Emily Brockmann | Casting |
| Freddie Mason | Stunts |
| Craig Mazin | Screenplay, Screenstory |
| Dave Bennett | Executive In Charge Of Production |
| Mark Southworth | Stunt Coordinator |
| Martin Walsh | Editor |
| Adam Broderick | Visual Effects Producer |
| Dean Elliott | Animation Supervisor |
| Josh Simmonds | Visual Effects Supervisor |
| Christophe Beck | Original Music Composer |
| Oliver Armstrong | Visual Effects Supervisor |
| Christian Kaestner | Visual Effects Supervisor |
| Mark Webb | Visual Effects Producer |
| Chris Hurtt | Animation Supervisor |
| Emily Beswarick | Assistant Art Director |
| Owen Robertson | Assistant Art Director |
| Caroline Harper | Standby Art Director |
| Anna Lencioni | Storyboard Artist |
| Cole Harrington | Storyboard Artist |
| Roan Everly | Storyboard Artist |
| Al LeVine | Additional Editor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Tim Bevan | Producer |
| Aditya Sood | Executive Producer |
| Phil Lord | Executive Producer |
| Lindsay Doran | Producer |
| Tim Wellspring | Executive Producer |
| Eric Fellner | Producer |
| Christopher Miller | Executive Producer |
| Tyson Hesse | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 2025 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
| 2026 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 2026 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| 2026 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 4 |
| 2026 | 5 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 19 | 22 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 39 | 385 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 175 | 626 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 223 | 667 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | 58 | 467 |
Hugh Jackman may take top billing here, but the real plaudits have to go to some animatronic sheep and to Nicholas Braun's hapless detective "Tim". He is completely out of his depth when a body is discovered in a field. He just assumes that "George" (Jackman) has had an heart attack - but the sheep, ... well thanks to the observations of the hitherto shunned winter lamb, they start to put two and two together and conclude something altogether more sinister is a-hoof. Those suspicions are only increased when his lawyer (Dame Emma Thompson) arrives for the will reading and declares that he had left an unexpected fortune to his daughter "Rebecca" (Molly Gordon) whom nobody even knew existed until that fateful day. The challenge for the sheep is, though: how can they convey their thoughts to the constable and has he the wherewithal to assemble the clues? Someone described this is as a sort of "Thursday Murder Club" meets "Babe" and that's about the height of it. There are plenty of engaging woolly characters who manage successfully to avoid dipping us in too much sentiment; Braun does the nice-but-dim engagingly and Dame Emma brings a well-dressed imperiousness to the proceedings as the red herrings gradually accumulate and "Cloud", "Mopple" and the grumpy ram "Sebastian" slowly realise that they too might be destined for the inside of a tin can too, if they can't thwart some cunning scheming from their two-legged neighbours. On a marginally more serious note, it also serves to dispel the notion that sheep are all a bit thick as they take quite a few risks - even crossing the road - to get to the truth. This is a family film in that there is plenty for the kids, but there is also enough of a mystery and some comedy for the grown ups too, and if you're in the mood for something light, fluffy and entirely devoid of crooning then this ought to do the trick.