Arthur’s series finale time-jumped and cast the original voice actor as Adult Arthur

polygon.com:

The series finale of PBS Kids staple Arthuraired on Feb. 21, wrapping up the show after 25 years on air.

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. Voice actor Michael Yarmush, who originated the character back in 1996, reprised the role one last time as a 28-year-old Arthur. (Unlike the other voice roles, Arthur and his sister D.W. were recast to always be voiced by 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 the Marc Brown picture books of the same name, Arthur follows the titular character, a bespectacled aardvark in the third grade, and his friends, who are all anthropomorphized animals living in the fictional Elwood City. Arthur notablyincluded 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. But what made Arthur stand out was how the show approached real life issues without ever being patronizing to young viewers. With a blend of humor and honesty, Arthur tackled learning about different cultures, grappling with illness, and dealing with the traumatic aftermath of a school fire, among other things.

“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