CALIFORNIA, USA — Cue up your angry “Arthur” memes. The popular PBS Kids show is coming to an end after a historic 25-year run.
The final season will air in the winter of 2022, but reruns will continue on PBS Kids, show executives have confirmed.
“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,” said the show’s executive producer, Carol Greenwald, in a statement, posted by NPR.
Screenwriter Kathy Waugh revealed during a recent interview on the “Finding DW” podcast that the show actually wrapped up production two years ago. She added that she thought the decision to end the show was “a mistake.”
“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,” Waugh said, according to CNN.
The series, which has followed the life of aardvark Arthur Read since 1996, has earned a reputation for showing characters from different backgrounds, to create a diverse world for children to experience.
And as those children grew up, the show reemerged as popular memes on social media.
More than 240 episodes, the show tackled a number of important issues over the years. It was awarded four Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program, along with a Peabody Award for depicting a gay wedding in 2019.
The show will be ending with Season 25, currently set to air in winter 2022.
