1. Netflix News

Picture Credit: Mattel

A brand-new Hot Wheels Let’s Race special, Attack of the T-Rex, is racing onto Netflix on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026.

Netflix’s synopsis reads:

When a giant T-Rex threatens Hot Wheels City, it’s up to Coop and his friends to race to the rescue and save the day.

The special is rated PG. Hot Wheels City has faced a runaway dino before: the Ultimate T-Rex Transporter went on a car-gobbling rampage in season 1 and became one of the line’s biggest toys.

All three seasons of Hot Wheels Let’s Race carried the Netflix Original banner. We’ve confirmed that Attack of the T-Rex doesn’t. It’s arriving through a non-exclusive license from Mattel.

Mattel just did the same with Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories – Really Helpful Engines, which hit Netflix on September 30th after first premiering on YouTube. Mattel has said the full Railway Stories series, due in early 2027, will also stream on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and free-to-air channels. Don’t be surprised if Attack of the T-Rex shows up elsewhere too.

We wouldn’t count on it. Here’s what Netflix has released so far:

• Season 1 – March 4th, 2024 – 10 episodes
• Season 2 – September 9th, 2024 – 5 episodes
• Season 3 – March 3rd, 2025 – 5 episodes

That’s 20 episodes of about 22 minutes each, and each one contains two stories.

Co-developer and head writer Jordan Gershowitz’s LinkedIn lists the show as a 40 x 11-minute order across seasons 1 to 3. Splitting Netflix’s 20 episodes in half gives exactly those 40 segments, so the original order appears complete. Season 3 also wrapped up the Cruise and Professor Rearview storyline, and the new special sits outside the Originals banner. Together, that suggests the main series has reached the finish line, and we’ve heard of no plans for a fourth season and beyond.

Gershowitz also lists an unannounced 44-minute special based on a Mattel property. We can’t confirm that it’s Attack of the T-Rex, but the timing fits.

It’s a surprising end for a big performer. Season 1 spent four weeks in Netflix’s global top 10s with 46.6 million hours watched, and FlixPatrol ranked it Netflix’s seventh most popular kids’ series globally in 2024. Season 2 spent a week in the top 10s, albeit Season 3 didn’t manage to get in. Per the Netflix Engagement Reports, covering viewership from 2023 through mid-2026, the series has now amassed 314.9M viewing hours, equating to 100.9M views. 

Hot Wheels Let’s Race comes from Mattel Television Studios and was developed by Rob David, Melanie Shannon, and Gershowitz. Animation is by Sprite Animation Studios and OLM Digital, and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump composed the music.

Will your little ones be watching Attack of the T-Rex on October 20th? Let us know in the comments!

Here are a few more first-look stills for the new special:

Picture Credit: Mattel

Picture Credit: Mattel

Picture Credit: Mattel

Picture Credit: Netflix