‘Arthur’ ends its 25 year run on PBS

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PBS series “Arthur” has ended a 25 year run.

“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 said in a statement.

It was one of the highest rated series on PBS of all time.

Production on the show actually ended several years ago, noted screenwriter Kathy Waugh on the “Finding DW” podcast over the summer of 2021.

She also said she thought PBS made a “mistake” by ending the show and noted she didn’t think had as much to do with ratings as execs thinking it needed to be “retired” and seemed to suggest she would be open to a revival of the series if PBS would reconsider.

The series is based on a book series of the same name by Marc Brown with an anthropomorphic aardvark named Arthur as the central character. His sister, DW, is another primary character.

The show become notable for tackling a wide range of topics, including disabilities and a wide range of social and emotional issues.

In 2019, the show garnered attention when it featured a wedding between two male characters, leading to at least one station to opt out of airing it. A church in that state would later screen the episode.

The show is produced by PBS member station WGBH in Boston along with Oasis Animation. It is distributed by PBS Distribution.

Its first episode aired Oct. 7, 1996 and the show airs on PBS member stations across the country, typically as as part of its “PBS Kids” programming block. It is also available on the separate PBS Kids network in select markets.