Blue's Clues gets a new host and new look: Watch the sneak peek

Want to feel old? Blue's Clues, the hit Nick Jr. cartoon series, premiered in 1996 with host Steve Burns and his CG-animated puppy Blue. Now, in 2019, Blue's Clues has a new name, a new look, and another new host in the first promo for the reboot.

Meet Josh!

Nick Jr. debuted a sneak peek at Broadway actor Joshua Dela Cruz (Aladdin) in his new children's show gig on Blue's Clues and You. The host still has his Thinking Chair, his Handy Dandy Notebook (albeit one with a makeover), and friends like Tickety Tock, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Mailbox, and Magenta. He just has a fresh blue-striped shirt, a new musical style, and a Handy Dandy Guitar, as shown in the video above.

Blue, too, got a glow-up, courtesy of the updated animation.

Burns, who was followed as host of the original Blue's Clues by Donovan Patton as Steve's brother Joe, played "a part of the search for the new host," he said in an earlier statement. "I give Josh two thumbs up! He can definitely fill my shoes, and the rugby shirt."

Dela Cruz played the understudy of Aladdin and a member of the ensemble in Broadway's stage musical of the Disney animated movie. He also appeared in theater roles for Here Lies Love and Encores!: Merrily We Roll Along, and television roles on CBS' Bull and ABC's Time After Time.

"From the moment we decided to make a new version of the series, we knew that so much of the energy and magic of the show comes from the host's ability to bring preschoolers into the colorfully animated world of Blue and her friends," said Cathy Galeota, Nickelodeon Group's senior vice president of preschool content. "Josh's wonderful theater background and his natural charisma checked all the boxes for us, and of course Steve's stamp of approval only solidified our decision."

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