BY: DIANA HERRERA-PADILLA
Staff Writer
This week on Monday concludes PBS’s longest-running children’s series, Arthur after 25 seasons. The show was known for the ways it taught kids kindness, empathy, and inclusion through some groundbreaking moments. The show had first premiered in 1996 and was about the adventures of 8 – year – old Arthur Read along with his family and friends. The final episode that aired was titled “Blabbermouth / All Grown Up” where we saw Arthur and his friends partake in a fortune-telling game that hinted at what their future might be in 20 years. During its course of 26 years, the show has picked up 4 Daytime Emmys for outstanding children’s animated programs along with a BAFTA Children’s Award. It was last year when they had announced that the show Arthur was ending its series. Kathy Waugh who is the screenwriter had shared the news during an interview in July 2021 on the Finding DW podcast saying, “Arthur is no longer in production. We had our wrap party two years ago”. As well as saying, “I think [PBS] made a mistake, and I think Arthur should come back and I know I’m not alone in thinking they made a mistake,” she continued at the time. “I don’t know if it was a rating issue or if it felt like it needed to be retired. To me, it felt evergreen, like it was never going to end but it did end, we finished the last episode, season 25, two years ago.”