Fans of the beloved PBS show “Arthur” watched Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marry his partner in a same-sex wedding ceremony earlier this month.
Fans, except for those in Alabama.
Alabama Public Television chose not to air the episode titled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” and instead showed a rerun, according to AL.com.
The episode aired nationwide including on WQED on May 13.
Mike Mckenzie, APT’s director of programming, said APT was notified by WGBH and PBS in mid-April about the episode and decided to show a re-run. Mckenzie said APT has no plans to air the episode at a later date.
“Parents have trusted Alabama Public Television for more than 50 years to provide children’s programs that entertain, educate and inspire,” Mckenzie said in an email. “More importantly – although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards – parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.”
This isn’t the first time APT has pulled an episode of Arthur, which follows the lives of the anthropomorphic aardvark and his friends and family. In 2005, APT pulled an episode in which Buster, a bunny character, visited a girl who had two mothers.
“Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” is available online at pbs.org.
