Like Pennywise and countless other horror villains before him, another icon is being reinvented to haunt a new generation.
We’re talking, of course, about Caillou, the much-maligned animated series about a precocious 4-year-old and his family, which ended its run on PBS Kids last year. Peacock on Tuesday announced that the series is being rebooted in CGI form, with an order of 52 episodes at 11 minutes a pop.
Peacock describes this new Caillou as a “CGI reboot of the original, 1997 animated series of the same name, featuring authentic and relatable slice-of-life stories told from the point of view of its imaginative four-year-old main character who learns life lessons and discovers new things with his friends and family.” The show will finds its titular toddler tackling “tricky problems and powerful emotions, by imagining himself, his family, and his friends as characters in exciting make-believe adventures based on his favorite toys and books.”
The streamer also announced a series of 44-minute Caillou specials, each of which focus on “significant childhood occasions.” The five specials will cover Christmas, Halloween, summer vacation, anti-bullying and a celebration of family. Per the release, “each story will push further into the rich imaginative potential of Caillou’s inner world than ever before.”
When the original animated series stopped airing on PBS Kids, the news was met with overwhelmingly positive remarks from parents online. One called it an “obnoxious, ridiculous excuse for a kid’s show,” while another simply celebrated the end of “the most annoying thing on TV.”
And it’s not just live-action parents that took issue with the show. A 2020 episode of Family Guy found Lois forcing herself to watch every episode of Caillou in an attempt to prove that it was teaching Stewie bad behavior. (Click here for a taste.)
The new Caillou is expected to debut on Peacock in 2023.
Parents, will you let your kids give this new Caillou a shot? Drop your thoughts in a comment below.