Arthur (TV series)

*Arthur*
Arthur
Genre	Education; Problem solving;
Based on	Characters; by Marc Brown
Developed by	Kathy Waugh; Marc Brown;
Directed by	Greg Bailey
Theme music composer	Judy Henderson; Jerry de Villiers Jr.;
Opening theme	"Believe in Yourself"; by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Ending theme	"Believe in Yourself" (instrumental)
Composer	Ray Fabi
Country of origin	United States; Canada;
Original language	English
No. of seasons	25
No. of episodes	253 (493 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Marc Brown (seasons 10–25); Micheline Charest (seasons 1–4); Carol Greenwald; Peter Moss (seasons 5–6); Andrew Porporino; Lesley Taylor; Toper Taylor; Pierre Valette; Steven Jarosz; Pamela Slavin; Vince Commisso;
Producers	Ronald A. Weinberg (seasons 1–4); Cassandra Schafhausen; Lesley Taylor; Greg Bailey; Diane Dallaire; Tolon Brown;
Running time	26 minutes (13-minute half segments)
Production companies	Marc Brown Studios (seasons 5–25; uncredited in seasons 5–7 and 9–25); Cookie Jar Group (seasons 1–15); 9 Story Media Group (seasons 16–19); Oasis Animation (seasons 20–25); WGBH Boston;
Original release
Network	PBS (PBS Kids)
Release	October 7, 1996 –; February 21, 2022
Related
	Postcards from Buster

Arthur is an American animated television series developed by Kathy Waugh and Marc Brown and produced by WGBH Boston for PBS. Based on Brown's Arthur book series, it is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City and resolves around the lives of Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.

The series concluded during its 25-season run, the series broadcast 253 half-hour episodes (including specials and a film Arthur's Missing Pal) ran from October 7, 1996 to February 21, 2022 on PBS Kids (formerly PBS Kids Go!) in the US and January 6, 1997 to May 19, 2022 on TVOKids in Canada.

It was the fifth longest-running animated series in the United States, behind The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Episodes

Season	Segments	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Segments	Episodes	First aired	Last aired	Network
1	60	30	October 7, 1996 (1996-10-07)	November 15, 1996 (1996-11-15)	PTV
2	40	20	October 20, 1997 (1997-10-20)	April 17, 1998 (1998-04-17)
3	30	15	November 16, 1998 (1998-11-16)	January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01)
4	20	10	October 4, 1999 (1999-10-04)	October 18, 1999 (1999-10-18)	PBS Kids
5	20	10	September 25, 2000 (2000-09-25)	November 27, 2000 (2000-11-27)
6	20	10	September 24, 2001 (2001-09-24)	November 26, 2001 (2001-11-26)
7	18	10	October 8, 2002 (2002-10-08)	November 29, 2002 (2002-11-29)
8	19	10	September 15, 2003 (2003-09-15)	December 26, 2003 (2003-12-26)
9	20	10	December 27, 2004 (2004-12-27)	April 8, 2005 (2005-04-08)	PBS Kids Go!
10	19	10	May 15, 2006 (2006-05-15)	May 26, 2006 (2006-05-26)
11	19	10	June 25, 2007 (2007-06-25)	September 7, 2007 (2007-09-07)
12	20	10	October 6, 2008 (2008-10-06)	April 24, 2009 (2009-04-24)
13	19	10	October 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)	April 9, 2010 (2010-04-09)
14	20	10	October 11, 2010 (2010-10-11)	April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29)
15	19	10	October 10, 2011 (2011-10-10)	June 15, 2012 (2012-06-15)
16	19	10	October 15, 2012 (2012-10-15)	May 10, 2013 (2013-05-10)
17	20	10	November 11, 2013 (2013-11-11)	May 14, 2014 (2014-05-14)	PBS Kids
18	19	10	September 29, 2014 (2014-09-29)	September 10, 2015 (2015-09-10)
19	19	10	June 2, 2015 (2015-06-02)	May 26, 2016 (2016-05-26)
20	14	7	October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10)	June 1, 2017 (2017-06-01)
21	13	7	October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)	February 15, 2018 (2018-02-15)
22	8	4	May 13, 2019 (2019-05-13)	May 16, 2019 (2019-05-16)
23	5	3	October 14, 2019 (2019-10-14)	October 16, 2019 (2019-10-16)
24	5	3	March 8, 2021 (2021-03-08)	March 10, 2021 (2021-03-10)
25	8	4	February 21, 2022 (2022-02-21)

Characters

Arthur Timothy Read is the main character and protagonist of the series, who focuses the immediate family with most episodes involving Arthur, his youngest sister Dora Winifred and Kate, their parents David and Jane, and their dog Pal. His closest friends include Alan "The Brain" Powers, Binky Barnes, Buster Baxter, Francine Frensky, Mary Alice Crosswire, and Sue Ellen Armstrong, along with others as Fern Walters, George Lundgren, Jenna Morgan, and Prunella Deegan as frequent supporting characters.

The adults in Arthur play important roles: Mr. and Mrs. Read display a significant amount of stress from parenting, Arthur's friends' parents are shown struggling in middle-class jobs, and Mr. Ratburn's endures and expectations of teaching elementary school. Even in difficult, adult situations, these grownups maintain a cheerful attitude. Arthur, Dora Winifred, and Kate also visit their paternal grandmother, Thora Read, and maternal grandfather, Grandpa Dave.

Broadcast

Arthur became one of the highest-rated shows on PBS Kids for several years since its debut, averaging almost 10 million viewers weekly in the U.S. It is aired in a total of 83 countries, including on: PBS in the United States; Radio-Canada, Knowledge Network, TVOntario, TFO, and CBC in Canada; several ABC channels in Australia; and BBC One/CBBC/CBeebies in the UK and PBS Kids in South Africa.^[1] It also aired in Ireland on TnaG (now TG4) in an Irish dubbed version.

Notes

↑ Previously known as CINAR Films for the first two seasons, and then later known as CINAR Corporation between the third and eighth seasons
↑ Known as 9 Story Entertainment for the sixteenth and seventeenth seasons

References

↑ "More Children's Entertainment on DStv, GOtv with Launch of PBS KIDS". Brand Icon Image. May 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.

Other websites

Arthur (TV series) on IMDb
Arthur (TV series) at TV.com

[1] Previously known as CINAR Films for the first two seasons, and then later known as CINAR Corporation between the third and eighth seasons

[2] Known as 9 Story Entertainment for the sixteenth and seventeenth seasons

[3] "More Children's Entertainment on DStv, GOtv with Launch of PBS KIDS". Brand Icon Image. May 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.

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