A Bermudian animator will test the waters for his new project with a Christmas special to air this weekend.

Tashel Bean, 26, said that a holiday-themed pilot episode for his new sitcom Bermuda Shorts will air tonight and on Christmas Day on Channel 82.

Mr Bean said the reception would determine whether or not the network will air the rest of his series.

He added: “I’m excited, but I’m mostly anxious.

“I don’t know how people are going to receive it and I hope they enjoy it, but I’ll be happy when this part is done.”

Mr Bean, who also works as a freelance motion graphics artist, is best known for his project New Raz Adventures, which follows a group of pint-sized heroes who protect the fictional Loquat Island from the forces of evil.

He told The Royal Gazette in late October that he had started work on Bermuda Shorts, which focused on the lives of millennials living in Bermuda, and intended for it to be a more mature animation project than Raz.

Mr Bean said yesterday that, although he intended to have an episode done by Christmas, he had completed more than planned.

He said: "Because of the fact that it was out there I knew I had to get this done – there’s no way I could have said ’this thing was coming around Christmas’ and nothing happen. I knew I had to follow up on that.”

Mr Bean added: “This is probably the longest single thing I’ve ever made at 21 minutes long.”

Mr Bean said that he worked with Channel 82 throughout university and described the pitch of Bermuda Shorts as “the easiest deal I’ve ever done”.

He said that he had made an animated Christmas special for the channel in the past, never something of this length.

Mr Bean added that the episode involved a “relatable story about young parents” and touched on themes of family, class and relationships.

He said: “The two main characters are from two economic brackets, so that’s the main conflict in the story.”

Mr Bean said the series had not been completed, but hoped to add more depending on the reception of the Christmas special.

He added that he hoped to pitch the new season of Raz to Channel 82 if Bermuda Shorts went well and to branch out into voice acting.

The Bermuda Shorts Christmas Special will air at 8.30pm tonight and on Christmas Day.

It will also be live-streamed both times on the Channel 82 website.