Hey... what a horrible kind of day. After 25 long, educational (and meme-worthy) seasons, the second-longest-running animated show in America, Arthur, has been cancelled.
The news comes via a recent interview with Kathy Waugh on the Finding D.W. podcast, where the series co-creator revealed that the cast and crew have not worked on the series since 2019. The last batch of episodes is due to air in 2022.
"Arthur is no longer in production. We had our wrap party two years ago," Waugh told voice actor Jason Szwimmer, who hosts the podcast. "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."
Waugh continued: "I don't know if it was a ratings 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."
While this may mean the end for new episodes of the long-running series, Arthur's executive producer Carol Greenwald has said that reruns will continue to run on PBS Kids for now [via CNN].
While animation on the show has been outsourced overseas, the series was produced in Canada, with voice actors working in Toronto and Montreal. The series premiered in October 1996.
Arthur may be over, but he will forever live on in the countless memes his titular series birthed over the years.
Pour one out and revisit the show's iconic theme song below.
The news comes via a recent interview with Kathy Waugh on the Finding D.W. podcast, where the series co-creator revealed that the cast and crew have not worked on the series since 2019. The last batch of episodes is due to air in 2022.
"Arthur is no longer in production. We had our wrap party two years ago," Waugh told voice actor Jason Szwimmer, who hosts the podcast. "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."
Waugh continued: "I don't know if it was a ratings 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."
While this may mean the end for new episodes of the long-running series, Arthur's executive producer Carol Greenwald has said that reruns will continue to run on PBS Kids for now [via CNN].
While animation on the show has been outsourced overseas, the series was produced in Canada, with voice actors working in Toronto and Montreal. The series premiered in October 1996.
Arthur may be over, but he will forever live on in the countless memes his titular series birthed over the years.
Pour one out and revisit the show's iconic theme song below.
