Steve Burns Opens Up About His Departure From 'Blue's Clues' And His Return To The Franchise

"We just got a letter, wonder who it's from." Did you just sing along?

The popular children's television show "Blue's Clues" is about to change things up a bit in the new film, "Blue's Big City Adventure" on Paramount+ later this week. Steve Burns, the show's OG is making his big return to the franchise after abruptly leaving the show many years ago to many children and parent's dismay. He recently opened up about his decision to leave and all the rumors that were going around about why he departed the popular show in an interview with Variety.

Burns began his run as Steve, Blue's best friend, in 1996. He ended up exiting the show in 2001 when Joe stepped in and played the role of Steve's younger brother. The big question on everyone's mind was why did he leave? One of the main reasons he left was he was starting to lose his hair and didn't want to wear a wig on TV. "I wasn't going to be boyish anymore," he said.

But there was more to his decision. "I didn't know it yet, but I was the happiest depressed person in North America. I was struggling with severe clinical depression the whole time I was on that show. It was my job to be utterly and completely full of joy and wonder at all times, and that became impossible." He went on to explain, "I was always able to dig and find something that felt authentic to me that was good enough to be on the show, but after years and years of going to the well without replenishing it, there was a cost."

It took a while for Burns to recover after exiting the show. "My strategy had been, 'Hey, you got a great thing going, so just fight it.' Turns out, you don't fight depression; you collect it," he said. "After I left 'Blue's Clues,' there was a long period of healing. It wasn't until the death of my father that I really started to take things seriously, and my life became so much more manageable."

And while he wishes he had gotten the help he needed while still playing Steve on the show, he doesn't think that would have stopped him from departing. "But I would have been able to throw my arms around the role, and relax into it a little more," he explained. "Because now, when I look back, all I see is what an impossible gift that was."

After he left the show, the rumors began as to what his reason was. Some were saying he died in a car crash, other were saying he overdosed on heroin. Some even alluded to the fact that he was murdered. Burns made several media appearances throughout the years just to put a stop to the ridiculous rumors.

To further clear up any rumors swirling around, Burns' Instagram handle is "steveburnsalive" and his bio simply says, "Alive."

A video posted to Nick Jr.'s Twitter account for the 25th anniversary of "Blue's Clues" in 2021 had many who loved the show smiling. In the video, Burns, in character and in his famous green shirt, says, "You remember how when we were younger, we used to run around and hang with Blue...and then I left and we didn't see each other for a really long time? Can we just talk about that? Because I realize that was kind of abrupt."

He continued explaining his departure. "I just kinda got up and went to college. And that was really challenging by the way, but great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time and now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do," he said.  "And then look at you, and look at all you have done, and all you have accomplished in all that time. And it’s just, it’s just so amazing, right? I mean, we started out with clues, and now, it’s what? Student loans, and jobs and families? And some of it has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know.”

The post was retweeted 500,000 times and liked by nearly 2 million people. Many people responded to the video with heartfelt messages and happy memories.

In the new film being released on November 18, Burns is joined by the two "Blue's Clues" hosts that took over after his departure, Donovan Patton, better known to viewers as Steve's younger brother Joe, and Josh Dela Cruz, the newest host of the show. The film follows Dela Cruz when he goes to New York City with Blue to audition for a Broadway musical. The family-friendly film will feature original songs and choreography from the well-known and loved Nickelodeon show. Get ready for the nostalgia!

Burns recently shared a post on Instagram about where it all began captioned, "A life time ago I was a struggling actor living on a shelf I had built in the hallway of a tiny apartment across the street from the bus station. I was auditioning and making a weird experimental children’s television show. That show was Blue’s Clues and that shelf was less than two blocks away from this insane movie ad. Talk about a big city adventure…."