The producers of the animated hit show Bluey have been forced to deny a report that suggested the show could be cancelled after an outcry from devastated fans around the world.
“EXCLUSIVE: ‘No, not Bluey!’ Insiders claim iconic Australian cartoon – loved across the world – may ‘end after just three smash hit seasons’ as child behind famous character’s voice gets too old,” the Daily Mail story said.
I’m an adult man with no kids and I am absolutely devastated about the news that Bluey is ending. Imagine how kids are feeling. What am I gonna watch with my nephews and nieces now? #Bluey
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) May 4, 2022
When the story was published on Wednesday night the ABC and production sources told Guardian Australia it was “completely untrue” but the news continued to spread.
On the @OfficialBlueyTV story, both the producer and the broadcaster say it is completely untrue.
— amanda meade (@meadea) May 4, 2022
A spokesperson for Ludo, the production company that makes the program, told Guardian Australia: “We absolutely love Bluey and there are no plans to end the show.
“We always finish a season before planning the next one and right now we’re halfway through series three and really excited about the future – we can’t wait to share new episodes.”
Some of you have spotted some online speculation on the future of #Bluey. We absolutely love the show and there are no plans to end it. The community of fans around the world continue to blow us away and if we ever had an update on Bluey’s future you’d hear it from us first. pic.twitter.com/PmdLjpmjvj
— Official Bluey TV (@OfficialBlueyTV) May 4, 2022
The Daily Mail’s story was based on an “insider” who claimed a young actor’s voice has matured, “leaving producers with the choice to either re-cast the role or – more drastically – end the show”.
Daily Mail Australia editor Barclay Crawford said he “absolutely” stands by the story which, he said was based on two sources who work on the show.
“The statement from the production company came in the hours after publication – when we’d given them an ‘end of the day’ deadline to respond,” Crawford told Guardian Australia.
There have been 26,000 Facebook interactions in posts across multiple Daily Mail affiliated pages. Bluey was a trending search on Twitter.
When it launched in Australia in 2018, Bluey quickly became the most downloaded show in the history of ABC’s on-demand service and has now racked up more than half a billion views.
Bluey is breathing new life into the children’s television production sector, which has struggled since the Coalition scrapped the children’s TV quota.
The number of children’s titles produced in Australia dropped from 14 in 2019-20 to seven in 2020-21, and six of those – including Bluey series 3 – were financed by the ABC.
