The series follows the adventures of 6-year-old Ridley Jones, who resides in a museum of natural history with her mother and grandmother. At night when the museum closes, Ridley uses a magic compass to bring the exhibits to life, and they go on wild adventures to protect the museum and keep it going strong.
The series' six-episode first season premiered July 13, 2021. The first two episodes were released to the Netflix Jr. channel on YouTube on the 8th and 25th of June in the same year. The five-episode second season premiered November 3rd. The four-episode third season premiered February 15th, 2022. The five-episode fourth season premiered August 24th, 2022. The fifteen-episode fifth (and final) season premiered March 6th, 2023.
The series provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: The cancellation of the series with season five leaves the plotline of Dr. Cornwallis going after the other two artifacts unresolved.
- Advertising by Association: The show is stated to be "from the creator of Doc McStuffins and Vampirina".
- Animating Artifact: The Jones' magic compass, which makes the museum exhibits come to life. The Heart of the Museum performs a similar function.
- Bait-and-Switch: In "My Dinner with Ismat," it seems at first that Ismat is ashamed of having two dads, when actually she's ashamed of her royal life and being pampered all the time.
- The Big Guy: Dante, being a dinosaur, is the tallest of the main group.
- Coming-Out Story: The episode, "Happy Herd Day", focuses on Fred getting to lead their pack for the first time. Unfortunately, Fred's grandmother is unaware that they have transitioned from female to nonbinary and keeps misgendering them and calling them Winnifred. At the end of the episode, Fred finally finds the courage to come out to their grandmother, and she supports them fully.
- Disappeared Dad: Ridley's father is not yet seen nor mentioned, same thing with her grandfather.
- Fat and Skinny: Ismat's dads Aten and Kosy, respectively.
- Halloween Episode: "All Ismat's Eve."
- "I Am" Song: "The Eyes of the Museum" for Ridley and her exhibit friends in "Some Like It Hot" as they show their duty to watch and protect the museum.
- I Am Very British: Dudley the dodo bird speaks with a British accent.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: As much as she enjoys being treated like royalty, Ismat just wants to be normal. Her dads eventually admit they were tired acting all strict and traditional all the time.
- "I Want" Song: Ridley has "I'm Ready" from the first episode. She vows she's ready to protect the museum with her mother and wants it to happen.
- Jerkass: Mr. Peabody is mean, grumpy, and very determined to shut down the museum. He does not care what happens to the Jones family. This is why Ridley must hide the museum's magic at all costs.
- One-Episode Fear: Peaches' fear of heights in "Peaches, We Have a Problem," which she conquers by the end of the episode.
- Overly Long Name: Ismat's full name is Queen Ismat Chione Jomana Edrice Khepri the Great...est.
- Secret Identity: Ridley must keep the museum's magic a secret from most others, especially the grumpy curator Mr. Peabody and security guard Lonnie. Lonnie eventually finds out at the end of season four.
- The Moving Experience: "Pedro Busts a Move" focuses on Pedro being relocated to a new museum.
- Token Human: Ismat is the only member of Ridley's Eye Team who's human. There's also the female knight.
- Two Shorts: The series' format.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: "Ridley's Christmas Carol" focuses on Ridley reading the story of "A Christmas Carol" to the Eyes Team, and Mr. Peabody revealing that he hates Christmas. Ridley and the Eyes Team end up accidentally traveling to Mr. Peabody's past, present, and future, where they learn that Mr. Peabody was once blamed for a crime as a kid and banned from the museum as punishment, causing him to hold a grudge against both Christmas and the museum. In the future, Ridley's family is kicked out of the museum.
- Younger Than They Look: Ridley is 6, but she looks like she's 8-10. She must have had a growth spurt.
