Season Premiere of ‘Arthur’<br />Features Same-Sex Wedding The episode, titled ‘Mr. Ratburn and the<br />Special Someone,’ aired on PBS Kids<br />and kicked off the show’s 22nd season. It featured Arthur and his group of<br />friends realizing that Mr. Ratburn is getting<br />married to a character named Patrick. In a nod towards gender fluidity, the episode<br />never explicitly referenced Patrick’s gender. This isn’t the first time that PBS has featured a<br />same-sex couple on a children’s television program. In 2005, ‘Postcards From Buster’ featured a pair of<br />lesbian moms and was met with heavy criticism from<br />the acting secretary of education, Margaret Spelling. As a result, PBS was forced to pull<br />the episode from affiliate stations and<br />went on to lose a number of sponsors. ‘Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone’ has received<br />a much more positive response and has been highly<br />praised on social media for its representation.
