Caillou Cancelled at PBS Kids (as Parents Everywhere Rejoice)

Parenting triumphs are few and far between during the pandemic, but news that Caillou will no longer be on the air is being well-received by moms and dads far and wide.

PBS Kids announced on social media Tuesday that the much-maligned animated series, which has centered on its precocious 4-year-old namesake and his family for more than two decades, will be no more. The public television network even offered viewers coping tips on how to tell young fans about the cancellation. Instead of sadness, the news sparked cheers of snarky joy from adult detractors on social media.

“Thank goodness,” cheered Liza Cummings Reilly on Facebook. “That little boy was so rude to his mom and disobedient. I didn’t allow my kids to watch him because of that reason.”

One mother commented that Caillou is an “obnoxious, ridiculous excuse for a kid’s show.” And yet another described the show as “the most annoying thing on TV.”

Many Twitter users responded in kind (with some even attaching gifs).

That said, a handful of positive comments about Caillou also serve as proof that not everyone hates the follicly challenged and imaginative boy who peppers his parents, Doris and Boris, with questions and often pesters his younger sister, Rosie, and the family’s pet cat, Gilbert.

The din of Caillou backlash reached a crescendo three years ago when parents started pointing out that the series lacks educational value and instead teaches children bad habits such as sass and tantrums. Some trashed the theme song, Caillou’s “whiny” voice and called him a Charlie Brown rip-off. One YouTuber even created a parody.