Children's show 'Arthur' coming to an end after 25-year run

The beloved children’s television show, Arthur, is scheduled to come to an end in 2022 after a 25-year-long run, reported The Guardian.

Arthur, a show about the adventures of a family of aardvarks and holds the distinction of being the longest-running children’s animated show in US history, will bow out after 25 seasons on the telly, an original showrunner on the PBS Kids show revealed during a podcast on Wednesday.

Appearing as a guest on the Finding DW podcast, former writer and director Kathy Waugh revealed that the show had wrapped up production about two years ago.

“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. I don’t know if it was a rating issue or if it felt like it needed to be retired,” Waugh was quoted.

Carol Greenwald, the executive producer of the show, has assured that reruns of Arthur will continue to air on PBS Kids. “Producer GBH and PBS KIDS are continuing to work together on additional Arthur content, sharing the lessons of Arthur and his friends in new ways,” she said.

Arthur, based on popular books by Marc Brown, first premiered in 1996 – Brown created the character of Arthur all the way back in 1976 – and is known for touching upon several social issues and for teaching kids important lessons.

In their quest to educate kids about diversity and inclusion, the show even landed in stinging controversy in 2019 after an episode featured a same-sex wedding between Arthur’s teacher Mr Ratburn and his partner Patrick. Many broadcasters refused to air the episode.