One of the most praised children's series, gentle and educational, held to 10 on our children's scale because one 2019 segment ends with a same-sex wedding presented as a happy occasion to young viewers.
Arthur is an animated PBS Kids series developed by Marc Brown and Kathy Waugh and produced by WGBH Boston, based on Brown's picture books. It premiered in 1996, ran for 25 seasons and 253 half-hour episodes, and ended on February 21, 2022. It follows Arthur Read, an eight-year-old aardvark in the fictional Elwood City, along with his sister D.W., his best friend Buster, and their classmates. Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 5 and up, and PBS Kids maintains a page for the series.
Common Sense calls it a thoughtful cartoon for kids to grow up on. It says the show's social lessons are more complex and original than most cartoons, that it promotes positive relationships with friends and family, that girls and boys are represented equally, and that the characters are imperfect (kids can be selfish or bossy) because they are still growing up. It flags no language, violence, drugs, sex or scary content. The show handles real childhood problems with care, including sibling rivalry, asthma, dyslexia, bedwetting, and in later seasons cancer and autism, according to Wikipedia.
Common Sense notes that the siblings' arguments can be a little too true to life, loud and whiny, and parents in its reviews say the show can display behavior they would not want their children to copy, such as sarcasm and name-calling. It is the ordinary friction of a show about children, and most episodes end with a lesson, but it is worth a conversation with younger viewers. Common Sense also suggests the show's own podcast, The Arthur Podcast, as a follow-up for fans.
The concern that matters to most Christian parents is one segment. "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" was the first segment of the Season 22 premiere, which aired on May 13, 2019, and it was the first Arthur episode to feature a same-sex wedding, according to Wikipedia. The children mistakenly believe their third-grade teacher, Mr. Ratburn, is marrying a woman named Patty, voiced by Jane Lynch, who is actually his sister, and the segment ends with his wedding to Patrick, a chocolatier. NBC News reports that his students attend the ceremony. The episode is told as a happy occasion, and its central twist is the wedding itself.
Reaction was divided. Alabama Public Television declined to air it, saying in a statement to CNN that its broadcast "would take away the choice of parents who feel it is inappropriate," and noting that children younger than the show's target audience also watch. Arkansas's PBS network did not air it at the premiere but showed it later. PBS Kids said its programs are designed to reflect the diversity of communities across the nation, GLAAD criticized Alabama's decision and the episode was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, and the group One Million Moms called for the show's cancellation. A 2005 episode of the spin-off Postcards from Buster, featuring a girl with two mothers, had also been declined by Alabama, according to Wikipedia. Coverage of the dispute is also available from Deadline. We found no other Arthur episode centered on a same-sex couple, but we have not watched all 253.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells parents to impress God's commands on their children, talking about them at home and along the way, and Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way they should go. Both make parents, not a cartoon, the first teachers, and that is why Alabama's statement about choice resonated with many families. Ephesians 4:29 is a useful verse for the show's sarcasm and name-calling, which is a normal thing to discuss with a child.
On the episode itself, Matthew 19:4-6 grounds marriage in God's creation of male and female, which is why many Christian parents want to choose when their children first see a same-sex wedding presented as happy and ordinary. Ephesians 4:15 calls believers to speak the truth in love, and Philippians 4:8 calls us to dwell on what is true, noble and pure. A Christian family can hold the Bible's teaching on marriage and still teach children to treat every person with kindness.
The segment is easy to identify by its title and sits in a single episode of 253, so families will respond differently. Some will skip it and keep watching, some will watch it together and talk about what the Bible teaches, and some will decide the show is not for their home. The Arthur Podcast also retells the episode, according to Wikipedia, so check what a child is listening to as well as watching. We have not reviewed every episode of the later seasons, and Common Sense's review predates 2019, so parents of younger children may want to preview the episodes from Season 22 onward.
Arthur scores 10/100, Avoid, on our children's scale. That is a deliberate feature of the scale and not a verdict that the show is harmful: we treat any same-sex couple given story focus in a children's show as a formation concern and cap the score at 10, however good everything else is. Arthur is otherwise one of the most praised children's series ever made, and Common Sense's review of the series flags nothing. Parents who want to keep watching can reasonably skip the one segment and co-watch, and parents who prefer a show with no such content have other options below.
For other children's shows, see our guides to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, VeggieTales, PAW Patrol, and Peppa Pig, which has a similar note. Our Christian shows safe for kids hub and Christian TV reviews hub compare the rest, and our Christian discernment guide explains how we weigh children's media. For the full parent guide and the episode's background, read Common Sense Media's review and Wikipedia's article on the episode.