A traumatized population of millennials wept shamelessly in September 2021 after former Nickelodeon Blue's Clues host Steve Burns addressed the nation to apologize for his abrupt exit from the hugely popular children's show back in 2001.
In the heartwarming video, Burns talked about how challenging it was to leave the show to "go off to college," face student loans, and balance work and family life during the many difficult events that the millennial and zennial generations know so well. Though he was sorry to have left us, the former host told us he couldn't have done any of the things in his life that he loves so much without us.
Burns also said that, though we are all grown up now, and it has been a while since he has seen us, he never forgot us, that he is glad we are still friends, and that we look great. An entire class of millions of individuals completely fell apart from nostalgia and emotion, feeling a hole in their hearts they didn't know they had begin to heal.
Raising a Generation of Millennials
Burns' Steve identity was beloved beyond imagining and critically influential to the '90s and 2000s Nickelodeon-watching community. It is worth the time and attention of professionals to do an academic and peer-reviewed study about Blue's Clues' effect on the cognitive and emotional development of the audience. Many didn't grasp how pivotal Steve was in millennial individual and communal childhoods until he resurfaced on Twitter this past September.
His calming voice and manner while solving clues with Blue, clues pertaining to real "adulting," taught kids that no matter how complicated a problem was or how uncertain the solution, it could always be solved by sitting down, thinking, and by using teamwork whenever problems get too big. Those are two essential life skills that every child solving the clues with Steve could take with them into the future, whether consciously or subconsciously. Now, fans everywhere are asking, what did Steve do with those skills in his own life?
According to his IMDb, Steve's original appearance was anything but what you'd see on a children's program. He was a musician who played in a variety of bands. Steve also developed his soothing voice as a voice actor in New York City during his early professional years. He used to sport long, skater-boy locks and an earring, alarming the casting directors of Blue's Clues and nearly costing him the job. However, his ability to communicate with the children in the test screenings was so easy, natural, and effective that it didn't matter how he presented.
Why Did Steve Go?
Ultimately, Burns didn't want to grow old on a children's program in front of the kids. According to Burns, his slowly but surely receding hairline announced that it was a natural time for him to move on. After Blue's Clues, Steve took his passion for music with him, debuting an album titled Songs for the Dustmites, the song itself a heartfelt and tear-jerking coming-of-age ballad. The music is exceptionally well put together and favorably reviewed.
Beyond his music, Burns has balanced his persona as a children's program personality and a voice-over artist for various shows and commercials, a podcast host for The Moth, and an actor in television shows and short films. Throughout it all, even though Burns left the program in great haste, he has maintained an unequaled level of accountability for his public persona as the original Blue's Clues host and a mentor and role model for children. Burns worked hard to dispel unfounded rumors that he had died of an overdose and in a car accident, putting fans' anxieties to rest. He was also a guest star, writer, and director on subsequent Blue's Clues seasons.
Steve's Big Return
What brought Steve back to us? What happened in the interim between departing the original show and returning to us in our time of need on Twitter and now Paramount+? The answer is in the question. Burns, just as he always has, is actively taking ownership for his care and concern for Blue's Clues fans by delivering a message of hope and togetherness at a time when he knew we were most in need. He used his beloved persona as Steve to do good, exemplifying solidarity and celebrity accountability. What is the point of great cinema and television if the people creating it don't care about what happens to their viewers in the wake of their work?
The first result of Burns' heartfelt video was an appearance on a Blue's Clues float during the Thanksgiving Day Parade of 2021. The second was the announcement of a new Spiderman: No Way Home-esque Blues Clues feature film at Paramount+, which will feature all the "Steves."
It's fair to assume that Paramount+'s Blue's Clues feature will have more adults tuning in to watch than children. Who can say, even after all these years, that they don't want to assemble clues with their old pal Steve again?