Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó and Paul Germain of Klasky Csupo Inc. for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster and twins Phil and Lil DeVille, whose day-to-day experiences become much greater adventures in their imaginations.
The series premiered on August 11, 1991, as one of Nickelodeon's original three animated series known as "Nicktoons". It initially ran for 65 episodes before production was halted, but its popularity through reruns led to the production of new episodes beginning in 1996. Rugrats ultimately ran for 172 episodes across nine seasons, with its final episode airing on August 1, 2004. Its popularity also led to three theatrical films and the sequel series All Grown Up!.
Rugrats became one of Nickelodeon's longest-running animated series and was the network's top-rated series from 1995 to 2001. It received more than 20 awards, including four Daytime Emmy Awards and six Kids' Choice Awards, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A reboot of the series, executive-produced by the original creative team of Klasky, Csupó and Germain, premiered on Paramount+ in 2021.
The series as well as the three feature films have all been released in their entirety on DVD and digital purchase.
Contents
Episodes
Season 3 (1993–95)
This is the final season of which Sherry Gunther was executive in charge of production.
Season 4 (1996–97)
After Sherry Gunther left Klasky-Csupo, Terry Thoren takes over as executive in charge of production in 1996.
Season 6 (1999–2001)
In the United States, episodes 127 to 130 were held over from this season and ended up airing during Season 7.
Season 7 (2001)
During season 7, Rugrats made a change with a different format that consisted of three segments per episode. Additionally, all half-hour stories from this point on had two ad breaks instead of one.
Season 8 (2002–04)
The original two-segment format for Rugrats was brought back in season 8. However, the half-hour episodes retain having two commercial breaks.
Rugrats: Tales from the Crib (2005–06)
These are direct-to-DVD movies that are part of the Rugrats series.