<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Official Website on PBSkids.org </Td> </Tr> <P> Arthur is a Canadian / American animated educational television series for children ages 4 to 8, created by Cookie Jar Group (formerly known as Cinar) and WGBH for PBS . The show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City, and revolves around the lives of 8 - year - old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other . </P> <P> The television series is based on the Arthur Adventure book series, written and illustrated by Marc Brown . WGBH Boston along with Cinar (now Cookie Jar Group) began production of the animated series in 1994, and aired its first episode on October 7, 1996 . Since its debut, the show has broadcast 235 thirty - minute - long episodes . </P> <P> A pilot for the spin - off series Postcards from Buster aired in December 2003 as a season 8 episode of Arthur . Postcards from Buster aired from October 11, 2004, to November 21, 2008, when the series faced several years of hiatus, until a brief revival in February 2012, only to be cancelled after airing three unseen episodes that had been held over from the show's third season . </P>

When did the tv show arthur come out