The 2018 series was announced in July 2014 as a new BBC animated adaptation of Richard Adams' 1972 novel, also drawing on the 1978 animated film.

In April 2016, it was confirmed that the series would be a co-production between the BBC and Netflix, consisting of four one-hour episodes with a budget of £20 million.

A music video for the song "Fire on Fire" by Sam Smith, featured in the series, was released on 21 December 2018.

The series was originally scheduled for release on 25 December 2018 but was moved up to 22 December 2018 on BBC One in the UK, with the Netflix international release following on 23 December 2018.

In Germany, the series was released on DVD despite never receiving a UK home video release.

The series holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 critics and a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating generally favourable reviews, though critics frequently criticized the computer animation as "soulless" and "clunky".

Reviews were sharply divided: The Guardian and The Independent both gave it two stars out of five calling it "tame, drab and deeply unsatisfying," while the Daily Telegraph gave it four stars, praising its "emotional bite".

The production won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and received additional Daytime Emmy nominations for directing, sound editing, sound mixing, graphic design and music direction.