The long running children’s show, Arthur, is coming to end after 25 seasons. The show is based on the Marc Brown children’s series and is the second longest animated series on television, second only to The Simpsons. Interestingly, the show actually ended production two years ago, culminating in a wrap party and crew goodbyes, but they had enough unaired shows to keep going. Alas, show writer, Kathy Waugh, announced on the podcast Finding D.W. that this was it, Arthur was saying goodbye for good next year. Here’s more on her comments from Entertainment Weekly.
Long-running kids show Arthur is no more. The beloved cartoon, based on a series of children’s books by Marc Brown, has run for 25 seasons on PBS, but after its final episodes air this year, it will no longer continue.
What’s more — production on the show wrapped two years ago. Arthur writer Kathy Waugh revealed the sad news on the podcast Finding D.W., a show dedicated to tracking down the seven actors who voiced the role of Arthur’s little sister D.W.
“Arthur is no longer in a production,” she said. “We had our wrap party two years ago. I think they’ve made a mistake, PBS, and I think Arthur should come back. And I know I’m not alone in thinking they made a mistake.”
“I don’t pay attention that much to things like ratings, so I don’t know if it was a ratings issue or if it just felt like it needed to be retired,” she continued. “To me, it felt like evergreen, like it was never going to end, but it did end.”
[From Entertainment Weekly via Just Jared]
I went back to our Caillou post and saw that a few of you really loved Arthur. It sounds like many are upset by this news. I didn’t watch Arthur. I know, that should read “my kids didn’t watch Arthur” but let’s face it, if our kids watched it, we watched it. I have very definite opinions about the animated shows from my childhood and my kids’ childhoods so for those of you feeling this loss right now, I’m sorry. That amount of time on TV is a real testament to how beloved this show was. Heck, even the podcast that this news was announced on speaks volumes – a program devoted to tracking down the voice actors who played Arthur’s little sister? That’s some fan dedication. There hasn’t been any real reason given for the the show going off the air. Although the end has been hinted at for a while now, it seems the cast and creators are heartbroken. Considering the outpouring of fans since the cancellation was confirmed, I doubt numbers are to blame.
The good news for Arthur fans is that PBS Kids, and many of those involved, including Kathy, have confirmed that new content for Arthur is still being written. Some of it are PSAs and shorts, but Arthur and his friends will still spread their messages for a while yet. And since it looks like Arthur, D. W., Muffy, Binky, Francine and the rest will be sticking around a while longer, I should probably finally get around to figuring out exactly what creature each one is. Because other than Buster, who I think is a rabbit, I am at a loss.
Photo credit: Instagram
Aaaah Arthur!! One of my favorite cartoons growing up where if I saw some episodes on TV I would probably sit down and watch them as an adult. I watched Arthur well past the age it was intended for, well into high school. 😄 It would air on PBS right after I got home from school so it was the perfect decompress activity before I started my homework. I definitely noticed when they changed voice actors for DW at least once, her voice became inexplicably super whiny at some point haha. Arthur was one of those shows that was really relatable, showing situations and issues all kids go through but dealing with it in such an age appropriate way. The characters felt like old friends. I also had a dad like Arthur’s—my dad loves to cook and was always making weird concoctions for us to try which is showcased in a few Arthur episodes. If you missed the boat on Arthur, you won’t get why we loved it so much as millennials (I was 8 when it premiered) so I suggest watching an episode or two if you can. 😊
I was also 7 or 8 when Arthur started and continued to watch it through high school. This was partially because I had younger brothers who watched it, but my brothers also continued to watch it well into their teens. Great show!
The episodes featuring interactions with the kids and the adults in their life were some of the best ones. Everyone who’s watched it talks about the one with the school fire, but another one I really loved was the one with Buster and his mom who was dating someone new, and then the subsequent episode addressing the fact that they broke up. It was just something really neat to see on TV, that too for kids.
Another one that I started thinking about randomly was that episode with DW and the science exploratorium, and it just hit me now how EASILY she was able convince people that her made up “””scientific theories””” were actual facts, while Arthur, who actually knows the facts, wasn’t able to convince a single person at ALL. It was just a funny episode on a cartoon as a kid, but then literally 20 years later, it became way too f-cking real, because so many people in real life refuse to be convinced with facts and would rather listen to someone who simply sounds convincing, even if they’re spewing garbage.
All that to say, Arthur’s a great show.
Arthur had one of the best theme songs of any television show ever. Ziggy Marley!
It’s a simple message
And it comes from the heart
Believe in yourself
And that’s the place to start
ANd I say HEY!
What a wonderful kind of day!
Where we can learn to work and play
and get along with each other.
Yes, it is so upbeat and fun. It’s permanently etched in my brain and will always be associated with some very precious years with my kiddos.
My kids loved Arthur, I loved Arthur, we had videos, books, a board game….it was such a sweet little show. PBS is so great. Arthur, Little Bear and Franklin. What a line-up that was.
Aww thank you for that memory-my kiddos loved that line up! We also had all the books. And for those wondering, in the original few books Arthur was drawn as an aardvark. His nose? Snout? was reduced in size later on.
DW is a menace to society and her show should definitely be cancelled.
DW is a menace to society and her show should definitely be cancelled.
I honestly though that they had cancelled Arthur ages ago! I used to watch it religiously as a kid. It was very one of the shows that helped me learn english when I lived in the US for a few years in the late 90’s. It was a good show, funny, with very few annoying characters.
Aardvarks, CB, most of them are aardvarks.
There was so much to love about the show. Their spoofs were priceless. Two names my college kids and I still laugh about are Stinkachu and Vance Legstrong. Stinkachu (the spoof of Pikachu) is actually how my kids learned about the existence of Pokemon.
Arthur and his family are aardvarks.
Francine (and Muffy I think) are monkeys.
Honestly, I was a huge fan of the show growing up, and I still am. It’s a great show, and what I like the most about it is that the writers are very clever in referencing things or talking about topics that are quite relevant for adults too. The humour itself is particularly intelligent for a kid’s show, and I still quote more than one line from it shamelessly, all these years later (“There’s water IN THE HOSE.”)
That being said, I do think it was time to end. 25 years is a long time. The show isn’t what it used to be. And that’s okay. What’s there is there, and so much of it remains incredibly relevant and poignant for children and adults. All the people who grew up watching the show have their favourites that they continue to go back to again and again, and that will always be there for everyone, which is truly the important part. For it to have had this much longevity as a kid’s show is something amazing.
Sad but the new Arthur is no where near in quality compared to the classic early seasons. I have the episodes pretty much memorized because all I did was watch PBS from 2001-2010!
Best show ever.
My kids love Arthur. It’s one show that they both can agree on. I love how they teach kids about relationships and getting along. We have some Arthur books that we read to both kids. Arthur is special to us and I’m sorry to see it go. It is a wonderful show.
I love PBS. It’s my favorite channel and that’s how I know I’m old.