Steve Burns of ‘Blue’s Clues’ checks on fans amid Nickelodeon scandal

Following the many disturbing allegations made in the new four-part documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, one Nickelodeon star has offered a comforting blast from the past.

Former Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns returned to his Nick Jr. roots by sharing a video on TikTok in which he quietly invited grown-up fans to express how they were feeling and listened attentively to their reactions.

“Hey, I’m checking in,” the 50-year-old star began in his post this week. “Tell me what’s going on.”

After nearly a minute of staring into the camera and reading viewers’ responses, Burns nodded and said, “Okay. Alright, well, it’s good to hear from you. You look great, by the way.”

The routine is reminiscent of his role in the beloved Nick Jr. series, in which he would talk to the young audience and pause, giving them time to make observations aloud and answer his questions.

Burns has uploaded a number of similar videos over the past few years encouraging fans to vent as needed, but his latest comes in the wake of the troubling allegations surrounding Nickelodeon in the Investigation Discovery docuseries. Many Blue’s Clues fans of the late 1990s and mid-2000s also watched other shows addressed in the doc.

Quiet on Set, which premiered March 17, contains claims of a toxic work environment and abuse at the network during the reign of hit producer Dan Schneider in the 1990s-2010s. It also features former Nickelodeon child star Drake Bell detailing the “extensive” sexual abuse he endured in his teens by network dialogue coach Brian Peck, who was later convicted of child molestation.

Burns did not directly address the docuseries in his post, but fans wrote in to thank him for it given the timing.

“After the Nickelodeon documentary, Steve, all I need is my Blue’s Clues to save whatever is left of this childhood I once had,” one user wrote.

Another wrote, “Thank you for being one of the GOOD parts of Nickelodeon, Steve.”

So far, the video has accrued 6.1 million views, and more than 40,000 users have left comments. 

After leading the series from 1996 until 2002, Burns broke the hearts of children everywhere when he announced his departure in season 4. As Steve went off to college, new character Joe (Donovan Patton) picked up the mantle, solving mysteries with the titular dog from 2002 until the show’s final episode, in 2006. A revival series starring Joshua Dela Cruz, titled Blue’s Clues and You, premiered in 2019.

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Related content:

• Everything Nickelodeon stars are saying about Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
• Original Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns is back with his favorite pup in trailer for series’ first movie
• Former Blue’s Clues host Steve has new message for show’s grown-up fans: ‘I never forgot you — ever’
  
  

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