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Blue's Clues & You! facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Blue's Clues & You!
Blues-Clues-and-You.png
Genre Educational
Created by Traci Paige Johnson
Todd Kessler
Angela C. Santomero
Based on Blue's Clues
Developed by Traci Paige Johnson
Angela C. Santomero
Directed by Vadim Kapridov
M.R. Horhager
Jennifer Sherman
Steve Burns
Presented by Joshua Dela Cruz
Voices of
  • Traci Paige Johnson
  • Doug Murray
  • Liyou Abere
  • Shazdeh Kapadia
  • Brad Adamson
  • Gisele Rousseau
  • Shechinah Mpumlwana
  • Jaiden Cannatelli
  • Leo Orgil
  • Jordana Blake
  • Ava Augustin
  • Jacob Soley
Opening theme "Blue's Clues & You! Theme Song"
by Joshua Dela Cruz
Composer(s) PT Walkley
Michael Rubin (original songs)
Nick Balaban (original songs)
Country of origin United States
Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 30
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Traci Paige Johnson
  • Angela C. Santomero
  • Todd Kessler
  • Vince Commisso
  • Wendy Harris
  • Jennifer Twomey
Production company(s) 9 Story Media Group
Brown Bag Films
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Release
Original network Nickelodeon
Picture format HDTV 1080i
Original release November 11, 2019 (2019-11-11) – present
Chronology
Preceded by Blue's Clues (1996–2006)
Related shows Blue's Room

Blue's Clues & You! is a live-action/computer-animated interactive educational children's television series. It is a reboot of the original 1996 Blue's Clues TV series with a new host, Joshua Dela Cruz, and it is co-developed by original series creators Angela C. Santomero and Traci Paige Johnson. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and 9 Story Media Group's Brown Bag Films. It premiered on November 11, 2019.

Premise

Similar to the original 1996 series, this series has a live-action host in an animated world. The series features new production designs and the characters (aside from the host) are animated digitally, though the visual style remains similar to the style used in the original series.

Like the original show, Blue's Clues & You! depended upon built-in silences designed to encourage audience participation and what The New York Times called "direct address inviting preschoolers to play along with games and solve mini-mysteries". The show's producers recognized that its return was due to nostalgia, and that although young children had more access to technology and were more visual than preschoolers before, they still had the same developmental and emotional needs to "slow down".

Cast and characters

Main

  • Blue (voiced by Traci Paige Johnson) – A blue puppy who leaves pawprints on objects (and occasionally characters) as clues to what she wants to do.
  • Josh (played by Joshua Dela Cruz) – The host of the new series. He is a cousin of Steve and Joe from the original series.
  • Mailbox (voiced by Doug Murray) – A mailbox who delivers a letter or e-mail to Josh every day.
  • Sidetable Drawer (voiced by Liyou Abere in season 1 and Shazdeh Kapadia in season 2) – The keeper of the Handy Dandy Notebook, who lives in the living room.
  • Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper (voiced by Brad Adamson and Gisele Rousseau) – A married couple of condiment dispensers who live in the kitchen.
  • Paprika (voiced by Shechinah Mpumlwana) – Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper's eldest child. She carries a cell phone made from a piece of bread.
  • Cinnamon (voiced by Jaiden Cannatelli) – A cinnamon shaker who is Paprika's younger brother. He wears a baseball cap.
  • Sage and Ginger – Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper's newborn twins. Paprika and Cinnamon are learning how to take care of them.
  • Shovel and Pail (voiced by Leo Orgil and Jordana Blake) – A brother and sister who live in the backyard.
  • Tickety Tock (voiced by Ava Augustin) – An alarm clock who wakes the residents of the Blue's Clues House each morning.
  • Slippery Soap (voiced by Jacob Soley) – A bar of soap who lives in the bathroom sink. He slides around everywhere he goes.
  • Magenta (voiced by Diane Salema) – A magenta puppy who is Blue's best friend from school.

Recurring

  • Steve (played by Steve Burns) – Josh's cousin and Joe's older brother, a college graduate who works at the Blue Prints Detective Agency (a nod to the title of the pilot for the original series). He was the first host of the original series.
  • Joe (played by Donovan Patton) – Josh's other cousin and Steve's younger brother, who works at the Present Store. He was the second host of the original series.
  • Lola (played by Carolyn Fe) – Josh's grandmother, originally from the Philippines.

Production

In 2017, the original show's creators, Angela C. Santomero and Traci Paige Johnson, after many years of trying to bring Blue's Clues back to Nickelodeon, were given permission to develop a reboot for 20 episodes.

On April 17, 2018, Nickelodeon posted a video discussing the audition process for the series. Over a thousand people participated in the auditions.

On September 13, 2018, Nickelodeon announced that Joshua Dela Cruz, best known as an understudy for Disney's Aladdin on Broadway for five years, would be the series' host. Dela Cruz, who grew up in New Jersey, watched the original show with his younger sister and is the first Asian-American to host Blue's Clues. Steve Burns, the first host of the original series, participated in the casting process.

9 Story Media Group's live-action and animation division co-produces the series with animators from Brown Bag Films. The animators updated the show with objects familiar to preschoolers of the modern age; for example, the handy dandy notebook doubles as a smartphone and emails arrive during mail time. The series is being filmed in 9 Story's Toronto studio.

On May 27, 2019, a first-look trailer was released to the public. On August 2, an extended version of the theme song was released.

On August 26, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on November 11, and that the show's two original hosts, Burns and Donovan Patton, would be returning to portray their respective characters in the series premiere episode. The New York Times reported that Burns was at first reluctant to continue his association with the show, but was persuaded by its fans on social media to write, direct, and appear on the show.

On November 19, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season of 20 episodes. The series was later renewed for a third season of 20 episodes on February 19, 2020. On February 18, 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Episodes

Series overview

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 17 November 11, 2019 (2019-11-11) July 14, 2020 (2020-07-14)
2 TBA August 19, 2020 (2020-08-19) TBA

Season 1 (2019–20)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
1 1 "Meet Josh!" M.R. Horhager & Jennifer Sherman Angela C. Santomero November 11, 2019 (2019-11-11) 101 0.87
2 2 "Playdate with Magenta" Steve Burns & M.R. Horhager Original script : Alice Wilder & Michael Smith November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12) 103 N/A
3 3 "Big News with Blue" Steve Burns & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Angela C. Santomero November 13, 2019 (2019-11-13) 104 0.55
4 4 "ABC's with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Original script : Angela C. Santomero November 14, 2019 (2019-11-14) 105 0.59
5 5 "123's with Blue" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Angela C. Santomero November 18, 2019 (2019-11-18) 106 0.53
6 6 "Sad Day with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Angela C. Santomero November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19) 107 0.66
7 7 "Laugh with Blue" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Adam Peltzman November 20, 2019 (2019-11-20) 108 0.49
8 8 "Song Time with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Original script : Angela C. Santomero November 21, 2019 (2019-11-21) 109 0.49
9 9 "Getting Glasses with Magenta" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Original script : Angela C. Santomero December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13) 111 0.61
10 10 "Growing with Blue" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Angela C. Santomero January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10) 110 0.50
11 11 "Happy Birthday Blue" M.R. Horhager & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Angela C. Santomero February 7, 2020 (2020-02-07) 102 0.77
12 12 "Story Time with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Original script : Angela C. Santomero March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06) 113 0.49
13 13 "The Thinking Squad" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Adam Peltzman & Michael T. Smith April 3, 2020 (2020-04-03) 116 0.58
14 14 "Science with Blue" Jeremy Slutskin & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Angela C. Santomero May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) 112 0.51
15 15 "Colors Everywhere with Blue" M.R. Horhager Original script : Jennifer Twomey June 2, 2020 (2020-06-02) 117 0.52
16 16 "Pajama Party with Blue" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Adam Peltzman June 16, 2020 (2020-06-16) 118 0.56
17 17 "Bluestock"
"Blue's Sing-Along Spectacular"
Jeremy Slutskin & M.R. Horhager Original script : Sascha Paladino July 14, 2020 (2020-07-14) 115 0.45

Season 2 (2020–21)

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
18 1 "Blue's Big Beat Band" Jeremy Slutskin & Jennifer Sherman Jorge Aguirre August 19, 2020 (2020-08-19) 201 0.42
19 2 "Hide and Seek with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Pammy Salmon September 16, 2020 (2020-09-16) 202 0.50
20 3 "Blue's Treasure Hunt" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Alyson Piekarsky September 30, 2020 (2020-09-30) 203 0.48
21 4 "Spooky Costume Party with Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Original script : Alice Wilder & Michael Smith October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16) 119 0.50
22 5 "Thankful with Blue" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Original script : Jennifer Brackenbury & Angela C. Santomero November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06) 120 0.59
23 6 "Welcome to Blue's Bistro" Steve Burns & M.R. Horhager Steve Burns November 13, 2020 (2020-11-13) 206 0.43
24 7 "Blue's Big Baking Show" Jeremy Slutskin & M.R. Horhager Jorge Aguirre November 20, 2020 (2020-11-20) 204 0.40
25 8 "Blue's Night Before Christmas" Steve Burns & M.R. Horhager Steve Burns December 4, 2020 (2020-12-04) 208 0.52
26 9 "Sleepy Singalong with Blue" Jeremy Slutskin & Jennifer Sherman Mary Jacobson December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18) 207 0.49
27 10 "Blue's Big Dance Party" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Pammy Salmon January 1, 2021 (2021-01-01) 205 0.45
28 11 "Blue's Big Imagination" Donovan Patton & Jennifer Sherman Angela C. Santomero January 22, 2021 (2021-01-22) 209 0.44
29 12 "What I Like About Blue" Steve Wright & M.R. Horhager Pammy Salmon February 12, 2021 (2021-02-12) 214 0.31
30 13 "Blue's Show and Tell Surprise" Steve Wright & Jennifer Sherman Caitlin Hodson March 5, 2021 (2021-03-05) 213 0.38
31 14 "Blue's Rainy Day Rainbow" Unknown Unknown March 12, 2021 (2021-03-12) 211 N/A

Release

The series premiered on Nickelodeon on November 11, 2019. Three episodes were made available to stream for free on Vudu on September 27, ahead of the official release on Nickelodeon. In Canada, the series premiered on Treehouse TV on the same day as the U.S. date.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2020 47th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Preschool Children's Series Blue's Clues & You! Nominated
Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program Nominated
Cynopsis Best of the Best Awards Best Preschool Series Blue's Clues & You! Pending
2021 Kidscreen Awards Best Mixed-Media Series Blue's Clues & You! Nominated

Merchandising

In July 2019, Viacom Nickelodeon Consumer Products announced that Just Play, a Florida toy company, would produce plush, figurines, playsets, and roleplay merchandise based on the series, while VTech, a Hong Kong company, would produce "early learning toys with modern tech features". Cardinal, a New York-based company, will manage games and puzzles. The products became available for purchase in fall 2020.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: ¡Pistas de Blue y tú! para niños