A Barbie Vs. Bratz Series Is Coming & We Can't Wait

The Barbie movie has opened up a whole new conversation about the history of Barbie dolls, up to and including creator Ruth Handler’s uncomfortable brush with the IRS for on tax evasion charges. Now a new television series is coming to CBS that will explore Barbie’s complicated history, as well as a rival between the Mattel doll and Bratz dolls. Because apparently that was something going on for several years.

The new television series is based on Orly Lobel’s book You Don’t Own Me: How Mattel V. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side, which draws parallels between the Handler’s career as the creator of Barbie and that of Bratz creator Carter Bryant. Bratz were invented by Bryant while he was working for Mattel as a clothing designer for Barbie. The new dolls were meant to be a sort of anti-Barbie option for kids. The original Bratz dolls, named Jade, Cloe, Yasmin, and Sasha were known for their “passion for fashion” and their diversity. MGA Entertainment acquired the wildly popular dolls, and a surprising rivalry began between the two toy companies. According to Reuters, there was some question as to who owned the copyright to Bratz dolls... and their $1 billion worth of sales.

The as-yet unnamed television series will explore “the dark side of the doll wars set against the cultural revolution that Barbie spawned, the subsequent backlash, and the cut-throat, high-stakes world of toys,” Deadline reports. Handler passed away in 2002, but Bryant is alive and well and showed his support for the Barbie movie with a recent Instagram post. “As proud as I am for creating the#bratz#pinkiecooperandthejetsetpets#sugarplanet#shopkinsdolls, I’m equally as proud and LUCKY that I got to be on the Barbie design team. I even got my own featured Barbie. So excited for her renaissance, I really am, and can’t wait to see the movie#barbiemovie#margotrobbie,” he wrote in July.

While the series is expected to delve into the origin story of the dolls and the similarities between Hander and Bryant as innovators and creators, it will also look at the cultural impact both Barbie and Bratz dolls have had on young girls as well.

CBS Studios has not yet revealed when the series is expected to drop or any further details, but we do know it’s coming and we can’t wait to see it.