If You Need a Good Cry, Watch This Viral Video Message From Steve of ‘Blue’s Clues’
Suddenly the world feels a little less bleak.
Hell hath no fury like a millennial scorned by Blue’s Clues. Bring up host Steve’s untimely departure from the ’90s kids show at a group event and block your ears—the yelling will be unbearable. Of course, we never held it against Steve (played by Steve Burns), who was replaced by his brother Joe in 2002, for leaving, and still worship him to this day. So when Steve reappeared in a Nick Jr. Twitter video on September 7th, the entire millennial generation finally felt as though we got some sort of closure.
“You remember how when we were younger we used to run around and hang out with Blue and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt and freak out about the mail and do all the fun stuff and then one day I was like, ‘Oh hey, guess what? Big news…I’m leaving. This is my brother Joe, he’s your new best friend,’ and then I got on a bus and I left and we didn’t see each other for like a really long time—can we just talk about that?” Steve, wearing his iconic green striped shirt, said in the video.
Steve hosted the show from its pilot episode in 1996 through 2002, departing in a farewell episode that still makes us cry to this day. You really are so smart, he reminded us before boarding the bus.
“I realize that was kind of abrupt,” Steve continued in the Nick Jr. video. “I just kinda got up and went to college. And that was really challenging, by the way, but great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time and now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do.”
“And then look at you and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time. And it’s just…It’s just so amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues and now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs, and families. And some of it has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know.”
Steve…we know you know we know! Where are the tissues?
“I wanted to tell you that I really couldn’t have done all of that without your help. And in fact, all the help that you helped me with when we were younger is still helping me today. Right now. And that’s super cool,” Steve said in his still-recognizable gentle voice. “I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years, I never forgot you…Ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends.”
So about that time Steve went off to college… #BluesClues25 pic.twitter.com/O8NOM2eRjy
— Nick Jr. (@nickjr) September 7, 2021
Blue’s Clues is celebrating its 25th anniversary today, September 8th. Though Steve left the hosting gig for good back in 2002, he’s made several guest appearances on the show since—including a behind-the-scenes special in 2006 celebrating the series’ 100th episode. And it was during that episode when we learned why he left.
And no, conspiracy theorists. It wasn’t an inside job, nor was it caused by addiction issues, as some thought. And obviously…he didn’t die, as was also rumored.
I knew I wasn’t going to be doing children’s television all my life, mostly because I refused to lose my hair on a kid’s TV show, Steve said. And it was happening … fast.
In fact, you can follow Steve on Instagram at @SteveBurnsAlive (a play on that rumor from the mid-2000s).
Steve, we have (and always will) love you.
