ARTHUR Creator Marc Brown on the Importance of Making Timeless Family TV
By Movieguide® Contributor
ARTHUR, the longest running children’s animated series in the history of American television, has finally come to an end after 25 years on the air.
“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,” executive producer Carol Greenwald told Deadline. “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.”
The show, based on a popular book series by Marc Brown about the adventures of an aardvark, follows Arthur and his friends as they grow up and learn life lessons.
“We decided a few years ago that 25 would be a nice place to end,” Brown told Variety. “He’s become the longest-running animated children’s show in history, and we have gathered over 600 stories now about topics that I think are going to be timeless. They’ll go on helping kids and families. But when we started ARTHUR 25 years ago, we didn’t have a lot of the technology that we have today, and we want to try some new things and see how we can play with those to reach kids. Podcasts, and new games that we can invent; we want to continue doing public service spots on PBS, maybe specials! The door is open to us to try new things with PBS. It’s fun to solve new puzzles!”
Brown also shared the importance of parents watching television with their children and asking media-wise questions.
“We embed adult humor into so many of the episodes when we can, when it’s appropriate and when we think of fun stuff,” Brown said. “And that is a way to draw in parents and caregivers to sit down with their kids and watch the show. And they have this wonderful opportunity. When they see something they don’t like, or that they do like, they say, ‘Well, what did you think about that? I don’t know if I like that!’ Or, “That seemed kind of weird to me!’ It’s an opportunity to share your values. And that’s what we always hope happens.”
The series finale, titled “All Grown Up,” aired February 21, and flashed forward 20 years into the future to show the audience their favorite characters, all grown up.
Arthur was revealed to be a graphic novelist who had just published his first book; sister D.W. is a police officer; best friend Buster is an English professor; Francine works for a sneaker company; Muffy is running for mayor; and Binky is a weatherman.
Movieguide® previously reported on PBS’ announcement that they were taking the show off the air:
PBS announced the end of their longest running children’s show, ARTHUR. ARTHUR follows the adventures of an anthropomorphic aardvark and friends growing up in fictional Elwood City.
The children’s cartoon, based on the “Arthur Adventure” book series by Marc Brown, ran for over 240 episodes. PBS set an end date for the final four episodes which will air on local stations beginning February 21st to conclude ARTHUR’s 25th and final season.
Fans of ARTHUR will be delighted to hear that the character will live on through a podcast, video shorts, and digital games. Shorts will be produced by GBH Kids and the podcast by Gen Z Media.
Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PBS Kids said, “For more than 25 years, Arthur and his friends have kept viewers learning and growing through their true-to-life experiences. We can’t wait to debut these episodes and introduce new Arthur content that will give fans more ways to engage with their favorite aardvark.”
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