"Blue's Clues" has a new host and a new name – Variety

Nickelodeon has found a new human companion for Blue, the bustling canine that is trying to lead viewers kiddies to preschool literacy.

The Viacom Kids-Media unit intends to launch a new season of "Blue's Clues", which debuted in 1996, with a new host and a new name. The revival, which will be called "Blue's Clues & You" and will air on the Nick Jr. cable network for preschoolers, stars actor Joshua Dela Cruz and will begin production this month at Toronto. The new season will include 20 episodes.

Dela Cruz is sort of picking up a stick. Host Steve Burns helped the producers to find the new host. "I've had the great honor of being part of the new host's search, and I'm giving Josh two thumbs up!" Burns said in a statement. "He can certainly fill my shoes and the rugby jersey."

Dela Cruz recently appeared in "Disney's Aladdin" on Broadway as a lineup for Aladdin and a member of the ensemble. He also appeared in David Byrne's "Here Lies Love" and "Encores !: Merrily We Roll Along". He also appeared in the CBS series "Bull" and the ABC series "Time After Time". Producers were impressed by "its authenticity of its comical timing and reach," said Shelly Sumpter Gillyard, Executive Vice President of Talents, Music and Events at Nickelodeon Group.

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The viewers of the series were historically led on a journey that led them to seek advice and use a "thought chair" that helps them develop skills such as sorting and modeling. One of the attractions of the "Blue's Clues" presenter was his ability to speak to viewers at home and encourage them to continue to be attentive to the story of the program. Many preschool favorites are presented in a "magazine" style, with a collection of short segments, but "Blue's Clues" still stands out as requiring the viewer to go through a script from start to finish .

The original "Blue's Clues" series has been broadcast for six seasons, but still runs on many of Nickelodeon's international outlets and Noggin, a subscription video service operated by Viacom. Created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler and Angela C. Santomero, "Blue's Clues" highlighted interactivity and explored topics such as sign language, geography, physics, emotions and anatomy.

This is not the first young franchise Nickelodeon has relaunched in recent years. In November, the company reorganized the series "Hey Arnold!" With a film that concluded unresolved intrigues of the series, aired between 1996 and 2004. In 2016, the network relaunched "Legends of the Hidden Temple", a TV game show of the 1990s, with a film that took them, just like the original program, through a jungle-themed obstacle course.