Pat & Mat

The characters first appeared in the theatrically released short Kuťáci (Tinkers) in 1976, while the first made-for-TV episode "Tapety" ("Wallpaper") was produced for ČST Bratislava three years later.

As of 2021, 129 episodes of the show have been released, and it has been syndicated in a large number of countries due to its lack of dialogue (except in the Dutch version, which is dubbed).

[6] From 2018 until 2020, 39 new episodes divided into three 13-part series were made in Patmat film, co-produced by Czech Television and Netherlands-based JUST Productions, again directed by Beneš.

[9] Due to these circumstances, Playing Cards has never been released or distributed in the Czech Republic and most of the world, even though it entered competition at Annecy in 1999.

The former Prague management later set up a new studio at the same location, Animation People, and posted more screenshots on their website, which were eventually replaced with a short, silent clip of the episode.

Later airings put the original intro back in, but replaced the outro with a narration warning against imitating the behavior of the series' characters.

[15] At least two books with the series' characters have been published: A Czech computer development company, Centauri Production released the Pat & Mat mini video game.

[17] There is a wide range of Pat & Mat merchandise available, including games, dolls, key rings, office material, posters and T-shirts.

Pat (left) and Mat (right).
Episodes made from 1979 to 1985 have Mat (left) wearing a grey shirt.