It’s a monumental day for the PBS animated kids series Arthur, as it announced that it’s ending its run after twenty-five years of being on air. The final episodes will air in 2022, and after that it’s curtains for Arthur and all his friends, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
The news broke on Wednesday morning after Kathy Waugh, a writer on Arthur, announced that the series was coming to an end on the Podcast “Finding D.W.” The podcast series is dedicated to tracking down all seven different voice actors who voiced the role of D.W., Arthur’s rambunctious little sister on the show. Entertainment Weekly picked up what Waugh said; “Arthur is no longer in a production. 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.”
The end of Arthur is a bittersweet moment for a generation who grew up watching the kids at Lakewood Elementary School navigate life with all its ups and downs. Clearly, it’s a bittersweet moment for all those who worked on the show as well, including Waugh. Via Entertainment Weekly, Waugh went on to further explain to the podcast, “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…To me, it felt like evergreen, like it was never going to end, but it did end.”
Confirming the news to Entertainment Weekly on the series coming to an end was Carol Greenwald (Curious George), an executive producer on the show: “Arthur is the longest-running kids animated series in history and is known for teaching kindness, empathy, and inclusion through many groundbreaking moments to generations of viewers…In the winter of 2022, the 25th and final season of Arthur will debut. Arthur will continue to be available on PBS KIDS for years to come. 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.”
Arthur first debuted on PBS all the way back in 1996, and since then has aired 246 episodes. The production for season twenty-five of Arthur wrapped two years ago, so now there’s nothing left to do now but sit back and enjoy the remaining episodes of the longest-running animated series for children. To listen to the Waugh’s entire interview, the podcast “Finding D.W.” is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.