In the 1970s, American
illustrator Marc Brown began writing the children’s book series that would make
him famous on television a few decades later. Why TV? That is because his
books, detailing the everyday adventures of young boy Arthur Read in a world populated
by anthropomorphic animals, would be adapted into an animated series by WGBH
and Canadian studio Cinar (WildBrain today) for PBS. Since premiering in 1996, “Arthur”
became the longest-running US children’s animated program, second-longest US
animated program period (behind “The Simpsons”) and a definitive part of many
90s kids’ childhoods. Unfortunately, all good things must eventually end.
Comicbook.com drops the bombshell that has actually been hinted at
for as far as a couple years or so earlier, the PBS animated series “Arthur” is
coming to an end after 25 seasons and about as many years in broadcast. The
kicker was that the finish was a done deal back in 2018 or so. This was
revealed by the show’s writer Kathy Waugh, on the podcast “Finding DW” hosted
by voice actor and former “Arthur” voice cast member Jason Szwimer. "Arthur
is no longer in production,” Waugh said in the reveal. “We had our wrap party
two years ago."
The news was confirmed by “Arthur”
executive producer Carol Greenwald. IGN has
it that Greenwald has charted the broadcast schedule for the series, with
season 25 set to premiere on PBS in October of 2021. Once that is run through,
there will be no more new episodes of “Arthur,” but the series with its
multiple seasons will continue to rerun on the public broadcaster’s separate PBS
Kids network. By this past Monday and Tuesday, July 26-27, social media
denizens who grew up in the 1990s with “Arthur” have begun expressing their dismay
at the quiet cancellation of the show, which they equate to the ending of a
children’s TV era.
I was just working on a video for Arthur so this is a bit of a bombshell. One of the few shows that was able to stay consistently good during its runtime. Nothing but respect and gratitude for this pillar of my childhood https://t.co/0XzJHI9AFx
— Saberspark (@Saberspark) July 27, 2021
While primarily a child-focused
animated series, “Arthur” was beloved by a wider demographic for its
willingness to tackle a wide variety of subjects about childhood and life in
general. Episodes of its many series have touched on subjects ranging from
age-appropriate problems like bed-wetting, to all-ages issues like bullying,
health problems like asthma or cancer, and even LGBT topics. The show also
featured celebrity guests, sometimes voicing animated anthropomorphic animal
versions of themselves like the late Mister Fred Rogers or the Backstreet Boys.
Suffice to say, “Arthur” will be missed when it ends; but until then, what a
wonderful kind of day for the fans.
Image courtesy of PBS
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