Arthur, the long-running PBS Kids series, has come to an end after 25 seasons with a glimpse into the characters' futures. And it turns out the kids are alright.
The Arthur series finale, "All Grown Up," which debuted on Sunday across PBS platforms, came with the reveal of Arthur Read and his friends, well, all grown up by flash forwarding 20 years in the future.
As an adult, the titular bespectacled aardvark sits at a booth in the Sugar Bowl parlor, which is now run by his pal George Lundgren, and he's ready to show the graphic novel he finished writing to his friends.
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Buster Baxter is now a school teacher, Francine Frensky runs her own sneaker company, Muffy Crosswire is running for mayor, and Arthur's sister D.W. is a traffic cop. We also see on the parlor's television that Binky Barnes has grown up to be a local weatherman.
In a meta move by the series architects, the events of the PBS show turn out to be Arthur's graphic novel memoir. He reveals his book to his friends and starts reading from the beginning. "Chapter 1, How I got my very first pair of glasses," he begins, which is a nod to the very first episode of Arthur, "Arthur's Eyes; Francine's Bad Hair Day."
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The full episode is currently available to watch on PBS Kids' YouTube, but the network makes clear Arthur is not totally over. Episodes will continue to air on the network and its video app, while a podcast and digital shorts are being planned.
"It's amazing that what began as a simple bedtime story for my son eventually evolved into over a hundred books and a collaboration with GBH and PBS Kids that would last 25 years," Arthur creator Marc Brown had said of the show's ending. "Now more than ever the last line of my first book Arthur's Nose rings true — 'There is a lot more to Arthur than his nose.'"
Watch the series finale above.
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