Nickelodeon is rebooting Blue’s Clues and has found its host

The latest TV series to come back around is… Blue’s Clues. If you don’t know what this is, it’s a children’s show about a real person who lives in an animated world, with animated pets and must negotiate animated furniture. He lives with a blue dog, cleverly named Blue. Blue, who clearly holds a superior intellect to her human companion, constantly implores him to do things but he is utterly baffled by what it is she wants to do. So, instead of enlisting the local dog whisperer, Blue lays out clues for him to solve so that Blue might finally get to do that which she so desires to do. Which, were the show at all based in reality, would always result in the human handing whatever they are eating to Blue. The show is colorful, playful and involves singing – in other words, kids’ crack.

I’m being funny, but it was a great show for preschoolers that introduced early critical thinking. It was nominated for an Emmy and won a bunch of other awards. Last March, it was announced that Nickelodeon was bringing the show back. Since then, they changed the name to Blue’s Clues & You and have been on the hunt for a new host. At long last, they’ve found one: stage actor Joshua Dela Cruz! Yeah, I don’t know who he is either, but he looks nice and original host Steve Burns gives him his stamp of approval so I’m all for it.

Blue’s Clues is getting a new title — and a new host!
Nickelodeon announced Thursday that the original series is rebooting as Blue’s Clues & You.

Additionally, the network revealed that beloved girl puppy, Blue, has a new pal that will be hosting the 20-episode series: Broadway actor Joshua Dela Cruz.

When it came to casting Dela Cruz, a familiar Blue’s Clues face helped in the audition process: Steve Burns, who hosted the original series from 1996-2003.

“I had the great honor of being a part of the search for the new host, and I give Josh two thumbs up!” Burns, 44, said in a statement. “He can definitely fill my shoes, and the rugby shirt.”

[From People]

Blue’s Clues has gone through a series of reinventions. When Steve left, he was replaced by Joe (Donovan Patton). Blue and her animated world went from cartoon to CGI and even to puppets in some incarnations. I just saw a clip in which Blue herself spoke, which, as I didn’t expect it, was mildly alarming.

We discovered Blue and her psychedelic world a little late for my kids, but they enjoyed it for a bit, though. Problem solving is always a good thing and Blue is actually cute, unlike some other animated creatures that look like waking nightmares (or have a phallus for a face). And it really engages children. I know I was supposed to be hyper-focused on how the show was mentally stimulating my kids but honestly, I would’ve given a Peabody Award to any show that engrossed them long enough for me to sit down and read the newspaper. So this post’s for you, preschool parents. Finally, a reboot you can look forward to.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photo credit: Twitter and Getty Images

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

44 Responses to “Nickelodeon is rebooting Blue’s Clues and has found its host”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. minx says:

    Aw, I have so many memories of watching with my younger child. My older one was during the Barney era.

    • Sherry says:

      My oldest was Blue’s biggest fan. She’s 21 and still sleeps with her Blue and Magenta she’s had since she was 2.

    • Silent Star says:

      Awww, best of luck to the Blue’s Clues reboot! This is happy news to find among all the other darkness of my news feed. I watched this lovely and educational show with my little ones and it is great to have it refreshed for a new generation. <3

  2. Naptime says:

    I had Jared kushner might be looking for a new job soon. He’d make a great Steve.

  3. Eribra says:

    I remember finding my 3 year old crying hysterically one day- he was going to miss us when he went to college. Finally figured out he had seen the blues episode when steve went to college. We loved blue’s clues!

    • Kimble says:

      “Steve is going to college, Steve is going to college” My 15 year old son still watches Blues Clues on occasion. I think I know every song from every episode (he has severe autism)

      • Esmom says:

        My son, now 19, is on the spectrum too and Blue’s Clues was a favorite for years. I cannot tell you how many times we watched the movie, along with the show.

        And one day I retraced my steps to and from the park we went to on our daily walk — 1.5 miles each way with the stroller — because he lost his beloved Periwinkle plastic figurine. Thankfully a neighbor had picked it up off the sidewalk and a major crisis was averted. After that I ordered extra ones just in case!

    • Moco says:

      Haha! I’d forgotten about it, but my daughter did the same thing. She spent a week at 2 or 3 years old obsessed with how much she was going to miss us when she went to college. Another time we Skyped with a friend and there were labels all over everything (couch, Tv, Table) and her first comment was “I know which Blue’s Clues you watched today.
      It was a good show… didn’t treat kids like they were stupid.

  4. TheHeat says:

    My (now 20 year old) son lived and breathed Blue’s Clues for a little over a year, back in the day…or, as he called it: “Ba-woose Ca-woose”. If this guy has Steve’s stamp, he’s got mine too!
    Sigh – nostalgia.

    • mia girl says:

      Same. My 20 year old loved it – and so did her mama 🙂
      Her 2nd birthday was a Blue’s Clues theme event!

    • Mindrew says:

      Yup. My almost 20 year old was such a big fan, he walked around with a ‘handy dandy notebook’ for a good year and a half (this and Zoboomafoo were his favorite shows). And Blue’s friend, Magenta, was ‘the genta’ according to him.

      Glad they’re rebooting this and if this new guy was hand picked by Steve, even better.

    • Esmom says:

      My son’s almost the same age, love these memories you’ve shared. Mine called Periwinkle “Pinkle.” Lol. And my younger son, now 17, agreed to potty training if he could wear Blue’s Clues undies. Seems like a million years ago.

  5. Squirrels4eva says:

    My son loved blues clues so much we had to use Scooby Doo as a gateway cartoon to wean him off it. He’s 15 now but i still hear “mail time!!” And do jazz hands.

  6. BendyWindy says:

    I used to watch Blue’s Clues with my nieces and old episodes with my older kids. I just had a baby and I am here for this reboot. I actually like or love most children’s programming, and this is no exception!

    • Esmom says:

      Congrats on your new little one! I love children’s programming, there is so much good, quality stuff out there compared to when I was a kid. The quality was sure there — Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Electric Company, but not the sheer quantity of fabulous shows you can find now. I actually was bummed that my kids never warmed to Sesame Street. There were almost too many options, considering it’s important to not overload them with screen time.

  7. Vanessa says:

    I loved me some Blues Clues when my son was little. Had a little crush on Steve.

    • WingKingdom says:

      Ditto… except my crush on Steve was humongous!

    • FhMom says:

      I can do you both one better. I had a few dirty dreams about Steve. Lol If Steve says this guy is okay, then I’m on board. Steve , the actor, seems like an all around good guy.

  8. Abby says:

    awww! My youngest brother was 7 when it came out (I was in middle school/high school), so we did watch it a little bit but the kids I babysat liked it. I always liked Blue’s Clues. I’m glad it’s coming back!

    Some other great kid shows I like for my preschoolers right now that have great messages include Daniel Tiger (everyone knows about that one–it’s a spin off of Mr Rogers and they teach a lot of character and social skills), Stinky & Dirty (about a trash truck and an excavator–they’re always problem solving in a creative way), and Tumble Leaf (beautifully animated, encourages exploring their world). It seems like a good time for kids and TV–the last two shows are put out by Amazon though!

    • Goldengirlslover34 says:

      I’ll have to check out stinky and dirty! Never heard of it. My kids have really enjoyed watching old episodes of yo gabba gabba (which at first was so weird to me but has great messages that we have been able to use with them), and this show called Bookaboo that we found on Amazon (a rockstar dog who can’t perform unless he reads a book! It’s like an updated reading rainbow with celebrities! Super fun!)

    • moco says:

      Daniel Tiger is the very best. My 4 year old uses those songs constantly… I hear her singing “try, try, try, you’ll get beeetter” as she plays soccer and she cries through “it’s okay to feel sad sometimes, little by little, you’ll feel better again!” when she’s in timeout.

  9. Goldengirlslover34 says:

    I have been watching old episodes with my three year old twins and they love it! They now walk around trying to find “blues clues” in their every day lives. I didn’t know it was being remade!

  10. HelloSunshine says:

    Oh man, I used to watch this as a kid and then rewatch with the kids I babysat years later. It really was a great show and actually educational, which is something a lot of kids shows claim but don’t actually do lol

  11. Bubbled says:

    We watched the reruns on tv! Some years ago, my then-3yo loved Blue’s Clues (she called it “Boo Shoo”) so much that I got tickets to see Steve at a Moth storytelling event. (Strongly recommend his story! Not for kids, though. https://themoth.org/storytellers/steve-burns) I took a photo with him and the next day I showed my daughter: Look! It’s Steve!

    She was totally uninterested because “That’s not Steve”. I guess losing his hair and having hipster glasses and stubble made him unrecognizable. Oh well.

  12. SJhere says:

    Steve and Blues Clues were and still are great!
    In fact, I just bought a fire stick so we can watch Blues Clues on the Nick Jr. App.

    My daughter has multiple disabilities and she loves Blues Clues and The Wiggles. 🙂

    Thank you Steve Burns for all the joy you have brought us. Too hear her laugh and enjoy these shows is wonderful.

    If Steve is OK with a reboot..me too. 🙂

  13. Josie says:

    I have such great memories of watching this show with my kids when they were little. Alas, they don’t remember it at all, but it was one of the only shows we watched back then. (I was a Sesame Street kid, but wasn’t as fond of the format by the early 2000s.)

  14. Other Renee says:

    Ah you’ve triggered the ol’ memory button! My now 24 year old daughter loved that show! A live stage version came to town and of course we went. We did also catch the Barney era. At first she called him “Money” which morphed into “Marney” and finally “Barney” when she could pronounce it correctly. I remember having to literally climb up into a toy bin at Target that was full of stuffed dolls so that I could fish out Barney and Baby Bop dolls for my kid. Ah good times!

  15. frankly says:

    One of our local schools has blue paw print car magnets for Panther Pride or whatever, and the first time I saw one I yelled, “IT’S A CLUE!” and my 13 yo who grew up on Backyardigans was like, WTH are you talking about? It was pure instinct. GET ME MY NOTEBOOK! My 22yo was a devoted fan – I remember how stoked we were for the arrival of Baby Paprika (or, in my house, Baby Bambika. So cute.).

  16. neocleo says:

    I don’t have kids but I watched the show pretty regularly to reduce stress. It was adorable. I’m glad they’re bringing it back.

  17. ChillyWilly says:

    I watched Blues Clues with the little girl I was a nanny for when the show first aired in the 90’s! We also watched The Big Comfy Couch, Magic School Bus and Arthur. All are fun and cute shows. Barney, on the other hand, was banned. Lol

  18. Tdub30 says:

    My brand new 21 Y/O shares a birthdate with Blue’s Clues. He loved all things Blue and we have a studio portrait of him wearing Steve’s requisite green rugby shirt with Blue’s paw print where a pocket would be.

    …..and now I’m crying at my desk from nostalgia 😢😄

  19. L says:

    I was a huge Blue Clues fan, I’m 26 now but I remember my mom taping the episodes during the day so I could watch them when I get home from school. Now I have a 3 year old – he’s already seen some of the old episodes so I’m sure he’ll love the new ones! So exciting to keep passing it down to the kids. 😃

  20. konspiracytheory says:

    My son was a huuuuge BC fan – we even went to a Joe meet-and-greet in Times Square towards the end of his obsession. It’s bizarre to now have a 20 year old who loves that Steve Burns hangs out with Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips. When I dropped him off at his dorm freshman year, I held it together until he texted me a photo of Steve with the caption “Thanks for all of your help!” Cue the waterworks…

  21. tealily says:

    Steve from Blue’s Clues is a GEM! This guy’s got some big shoes to fill.