GBH Ending Popular Children's Show 'Arthur' After 25 Seasons

BOSTON — Reruns will continue to play on PBS Kids, but the last season of 'Arthur' will air in 2022, according to the show's producers.

Executive producer Carol Greenwald confirmed the show will be ending in 2022, in a statement sent to Patch Wednesday.

A show many across New England grew up with, 'Arthur' follows the life of an 8-year-old aardvark and his friends and family as they go about their day-to-day.

The show was known for tackling difficult topics like bullying, cancer, and learning disabilities, all while teaching kindness and empathy to kids. The children's show made national headlines in 2019 when Arthur's teacher Mr. Ratburn came out as gay and married a man.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, PBS Kids released multiple digital 'Arthur' videos on Youtube, to reach out to kids about the importance of mask-wearing, racism, and voting.

First airing on October 7, 1996, the show holds the title for being the longest-running children's animated series, with the final episodes of 'Arthur' ending in winter 2022.

Though the show is coming off the air, this may not be the last time we'll see the lovable aardvark. "Arthur will continue to be available on PBS KIDS for years to come," said Greenwald in a statement. "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."

There's no doubt the show will have a lasting impact on viewers, even Senator Ed Markey took to Twitter Wednesday, posting a picture of him with a life-sized version of the aardvark.