Arthur series finale time jumped to cast original actor, 20 years later

PBS Kids’ series finale Arthur It aired Feb. 21 and concluded 25 years of broadcasting.

This last episode of the beloved children’s series featured a flash forward, 20 years into the future, to reveal what Arthur and his friends have been up to. Michael Yarmush (voice actor), was originally the voice of the character in 1996. This episode featured Arthur as a 28-year old version. (D.W., Arthur’s sister, was recast so that they could always be voiced as children), Adult Arthur is a budding graphic novelist, who shows off his new book to his friends — and in a heartwarming twist, it is revealed to be based on the first episode of the show.

Based on Marc Brown pictures books, ArthurFollow the title character, an aardvark with a bespectacle in third grade. He is accompanied by his friends, all of whom are anthropomorphized animals who live in Elwood City. Arthur Notable included a wide range of celebrity guest cameos — from author Neil Gaiman to late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek — as well as cultural references including Harry Potter, A series of unfortunate events, Tintin,And even Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and South Park. Arthur’s unique approach to real-life issues was refreshingly honest and not too patronizing for young viewers. The show is a mix of humor and honesty. ArthurLearning about other cultures and dealing with illnesses were some of the topics that we tackled.

“We are not writing kids programming; we are writing programming that kind of speaks to kids where they are and that is respectful of them but also understands that they like to laugh,” executive producer Carol Greenwald told the LA Times in a new interview.

“Whenever we would take new writers on, I would tell them not to write for a children’s show,” added longtime head writer Peter Hirsch. “You should write from your own experiences — things that would disturb, inspire or engage you — and then let’s figure out how to suit that for children.”

This episode ends with the characters taking a personality test to find out their future. Most of them are quite surprised at their results. As it turns out, all of their prophesied career choices came true: Fashionable Muffy becomes a politician; competitive Francine runs a sneaker company; zany Buster is now a teacher; and Arthur’s pesky sister D.W. is a traffic cop. Hirsch says that they didn’t want to go with obvious options, and instead show kids that life is full of twists and turns.

All of these are not possible. Arthur’s expansive cast appeared in the finale, so it’s unknown if mystery-loving poet Fern became an investigative journalist or worldly Sue-Ellen followed in her parents’ footsteps as a diplomat. The show is over, but there’s more. ArthurContent is on the horizon. In short PSAs on timely subjects, such as wearing masks or other mask-related topics, the characters will be featured. There is also an early podcast development. Even so, all 25 seasons of the show are available to watch on the PBS Kids website — and even though some of them might be two decades old, the lessons are still relevant and timely for today’s kids. You really can find an Arthur Episode for every situation.