‘Blue’s Clues’ Star Steve Burns Reveals the Emotional Truth Behind His Exit From Series
Steve Burns‘ departure from Blue’s Clues is a moment etched in the minds of most millennials as a turning point in childhood. Airing in 2002, the episode “Steve Goes to College” finds Steve sitting down with viewers and gently telling them it’s time to say goodbye. Before heading off to catch his bus, Steve looks into the camera and says, “Thanks again for all your help. Bye-bye. Take care. I’ll miss you too.” He smiles, waves goodbye, and leaves the show in the hands of a new host as he goes off to college.
It remains a bittersweet, heartfelt moment of television that has stayed with viewers for years, especially those who experienced it firsthand, back when Steve felt like a real friend who helped them find clues.
But now, decades later, we’re learning the tragic real reason Steve got on that bus. In Fail Better with David Duchovny, the former host broke down the emotional toll the show took on him and revealed that he had almost left early on due to financial reasons.
Nickelodeon Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection
“They were making so much money,” Burns revealed. “We were the number one kids’ show in many, many countries for a while. We were beating Sesame Street, and we had a ton of merch. And I would kind of say, ‘You know, uh, I believe I’m one of the pillars of the success of the show. I think that’s fair to say. And I can’t afford to live in New York City. That doesn’t seem right to me.'”
“The truth is for the first couple of seasons of that show I wouldn’t have been able to do it except I had this voiceover thing going on, so it was my side hustle at first…while they were making a billion dollars,” said Burns.
“There was just kind of a matter of pride. I think at a certain point, where I was like, that was great, but they’re not going to pay me, so I’m out,” explained the former host. “And then they said, ‘All right, please come back, we’ll pay you something.’ I stuck around for a while, and eventually, I think it was fair.”
“But eventually I did have to leave,” revealed Burns. “I was struggling.”
Nickelodeon Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection
“I probably stayed a little too long, actually,” he admitted. “I probably wouldn’t have left when I left if I had a better handle on myself.”
“It was really around the death of my father. I was very involved in his caregiving, and it was a lot. It was pretty heavy. It was gnarly. I was just getting out of a very bad, disappointing relationship at the time, and I just felt really alone. It finally exceeded my capacity. There’s just no other way to put that. I just kind of flipped out,” revealed Burns.
“I remember I didn’t sleep for like five days. All I would do is jump rope, and I felt great… And then I just lost my mind, and that’s when I did the thing from TV. In every episode of that show, I would sit in a chair and look at someone in the eye and say, ‘Will you help me?’ And it wasn’t until I did that in my three-dimensional human life that things changed.”
“It just got too heavy for Superman to lift,” admitted Burns.
But now, thanks to time and healing, Burns can reflect on his time on Blue’s Clues with fondness
“I look back on Blue’s Clues now, and there are so many incredible life lessons in that show. Just incredible. I talk about the practice of listening. The practice of deeply examining silences and embracing them, and leaning into them. That’s a practice I do every day now. That’s just fantastic stuff. And Blue’s Clues was all about leading an examined life on many levels. We would just run around with joy and look for little clues and bits of information that led to greater understanding, and then we would talk about them as friends. It’s fantastic,” said Burns. “I used to really struggle with Steve from Blue’s Clues. There was a real sort of personality tension there between which one of us exists and which one of us doesn’t, right? And now I love that dude. He’s become like a real teacher.”
Remind