After 25 Seasons, “Arthur” Is Ending :(

After 25 seasons, the PBS kids show Arthur is ending it’s run. This is cause for a pause with me: my almost-29 year old daughter Nicole literally grew up with Arthur and his friends, through the T.V. show,  books and VHS videos (she is pictured above reading one of those books to one of our dogs back in 1997). The series screenwriter Kathy Waugh recently revealed that the series was coming to an end, saying “Arthur is no longer in production…we had our wrap party two years ago.” I had no idea that Arthur is (or was) the longest-running animated children’s show in television history. The goal of the show was fairly simple: teach empathy, kindness, and inclusion to kids 4 to 8 years old (reports in the press indicate that Waugh thinks PBS has “made a mistake” by ending the show). If your kids are or were fans of the show, don’t despair: reruns will continue to air on PBS Kids for the foreseeable future. 

John Young