Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, twins Phil and Lil, Susie, then later Dil and Kimi and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies' imaginations.[1][2] Adults in the series are almost always unaware of what the children are up to.
The series premiered on August 11, 1991, as the second Nicktoon after Doug and preceding The Ren & Stimpy Show. Production initially halted in 1993 after 65 episodes and Germain left the series,[3] with the last episode airing on November 12, 1994. In 1995 and 1996, two Jewish-themed specials premiered; "A Rugrats Passover" and "A Rugrats Chanukah", respectively, both of which received critical acclaim. During this time, after the end of the show's production run, Rugrats began to receive a boost in ratings and popularity with constant reruns on Nickelodeon. In 1996, Klasky Csupo Inc. began producing new episodes with a new writing staff,[4] and the show's fourth season began airing in 1997. As a result of the show's popularity, a series of theatrical films were released. The final episode aired on August 1, 2004,[5] bringing the series to a total of 172 episodes and 9 seasons during a 13-year run.
On July 21, 2001, Nickelodeon broadcast the made-for-TV special "All Growed Up" in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. Though initially intended as a one-time special, it was popular enough that it acted as a pilot for the Rugrats spin-off series All Grown Up!, which chronicles the lives of the characters after they age 10 years. Another spin-off series, Rugrats Pre-School Daze, was considered, with four episodes aired. Two direct-to-video specials were released in 2005 and 2006, under the title Rugrats Tales from the Crib. Tie-in media for the series include video games, comics, toys, and various other merchandise.
Rugrats gained over 20 awards during its 13-year run, including 4 Daytime Emmy Awards, 6 Kids' Choice Awards, and its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The series was Nickelodeon's longest-running Nicktoon until 2012 when SpongeBob SquarePants aired its 173rd episode, and is currently Nickelodeon's third longest-running Nicktoon, behind SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents.
On July 16, 2018, it was announced that Nickelodeon had given a series order to a 26-episode revival of the series, executive produced by Klasky, Csupo, and Germain.[6][7]