Buddy Boogie: ‘Blue’s Clues’ Hosts Reunite at Rhode Island Comic Con

“Hi there …  I’m so happy you’re here …”

If you grew up watching Nickelodeon in the ’90s and beyond, you definitely know this song, as did an enthusiastic crowd on Sunday, Nov. 3, who gathered in one of the Omni Hotel’s gorgeous ballrooms in Providence, Rhode Island, to witness one of Comic Con’s most anticipated events: the ultimate Blues Clues cast reunion.

Not only did all three of the show’s hosts — Steve Burns (1986-2002), Donovan Patton (who hosted under the name “Joe” from 2002-04) and Josh Dela Cruz (host of the Blues Clues & You! revival, launched in 2019) — appear onstage for an awesomely fun panel discussion; they were also joined by two of the show’s creators, Traci Paige Johnson and Angela C. Santomero.

Traci Paige Johnson, Steve Burns, Josh Dela Cruz and Donovan Patton attend the Blue’s Big City Adventure premiere in 2022. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paramount+

According to Johnson, the show’s ability to make their audience feel included and engaged was always the idea from the very beginning. “We did research with preschool kids, knowing that they talk back to the TV,” she recalled. “We wanted a show where somebody that could elicit that reaction and you could feel free, feel heard and you could really believe in who you are and how smart you are. That was our goal for kids.”

“We wanted to create something that we love, something that really spoke to you and was different than anything else out there,” Santomero continued. “We wanted to expose kids to real music, not synthesized kid music, and give them a real person who is not talking down to kids.”

Nickelodeon Network/Courtesy: Everett Collection

For original host Steve Burns, creating the template for what that role should entail was made easier by making the experience as intimate as possible. “For me, it always felt so personal and very small because it was me hosting in front of a blue screen,” he recalled. “It was in a room without corners, so it felt like a void — I could barely ever see the director because there were lights and stuff. And so my lived experience was small and intimate and just about me.”

Being somewhat isolated during production also enabled Burns to shield himself from the show’s impact on the world, both during its initial heyday and ever since. “The impact of Blue’s Clues was sort of unknown to me,” he explained. “I intellectually understood that we were making a show that was very popular throughout the world. I understood these things, but I think maybe I was trying to push that away a little bit.

When Steve Went To College, Donovan Patton Took Over

Nickelodeon/Courtesy: Everett Collection

For Donovan Patton, the opportunity to fill Burns’ shoes couldn’t have come at a better time in his young career. “I didn’t know a whole lot about the show when I was auditioning for it,” Patton admitted with a chuckle. “I was an actor living in New York City and I was auditioning for The Blair Witch Project Part Two while doing plays and working at an Italian restaurant on the East Side, so I just was a little bit removed from that.”

Patton also credited Steve Burns with helping him find his footing in the new gig. “When I finally got the job, I had a little bit of time with Steve before we actually started filming and he basically showed me the ropes,” Patton recalled. “He said, ‘They don’t want me, the people that are watching you. Just be yourself.’  That gave me a little bit of freedom to make it my own and let Joe be different from what Steve was doing.”

Broadway Star Josh Dela Cruz Danced His Way To The Show

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For Broadway star Josh Dela Cruz, Blue’s Clues was also a brave new world to conquer. “My memory of the show was watching it with my little sister,” he laughed. “We didn’t have cable at our place, but whenever we would sleep over my aunt’s house, we would wake up in the morning and we would watch for hours. That was my experience with the show. It was like, ‘Oh, it’s a show for me.’ That’s how I always felt.”

It wasn’t until Dela Cruz was well into his young stage career that the show came back into his life in the biggest way possible. “When I got the audition for Blue’s Clues, I was doing Aladdin on Broadway. The cast and I were in the basement and I got the email for my agents and I was like, ‘Oh cool, they’re bringing back this show.’ And I started working on a line, so word got around that I was auditioning for Blue’s Clues, and all of a sudden everyone in the basement — so many different generations of people — started singing ‘The Mail Song’ (laughs). It made me realize that this is a huge show that so many people have such personal experiences with. I finally understood the weight of the show. It’s not just a show for me, it was a show for all of us.”

Based on the outpouring of love and support evident throughout this one-of-a-kind reunion, it still is.