Have you heard of the PBS Kids show WordGirl? It was an educational show made to teach six-to-eight-year-olds new vocabulary such as “strenuous” or “redundant,” in a fun and compelling way. WordGirl began in 2007 and released eight seasons, finally wrapping up in 2015. The basic premise of the show was simple: Becky Botsford is an 11 year old alien girl from the planet Lexicon gifted with Superman-type powers; she beats a whole host of silly villains ranging from a a man with a human brain and rat brain, a man with sandwich powers, and an extremely spoiled, hulk-like girl. Becky saves the day while keeping her identity a secret, and teaches the people of her city new words on the daily.

You may be wondering why anyone cares about a discontinued show for 1st graders in 2022 and why I’m writing this article. Well, I am pleased to inform you that WordGirl is making a big comeback online full of animatics, out of context compilations, and much more. This WordGirl renaissance all begins with the uploading of the YouTube video, Wordgirl But (Sorta) Reanimated in my Style by youtuber Cinnamacaron. This super cute and vibrant reanimation of a silly scene from the show resparked the interest of many former WordGirl fans, myself included, and even people who never watched it when they were younger. However, the reason this show managed to regrab the interest of people way older than its target demographic is due to its surprisingly comedic writing; in fact, WordGirl’s writers are the same as the ones who eventually worked on the comedic adult cartoon Bob’s Burgers. WordGirl’s creators intentionally decided to create a show that was simple enough for kids to help teach them words without dumbing the characters down or being patronizing to them. As a kid who watched this show while I was the right target demographic, I can personally attest that I loved it and even learned a few words from the show that I, an avid reader at the time, hadn’t heard before.

Recently, since I loved Word Girl when I was young, my friends and I even watched an episode together! And, surprisingly, it holds up super well. Not only do the jokes not feel dated like you might expect from its early 2010s status, but WordGirl is still funny, even for people far outside of its target demographic, and both former fans, such as myself, and people like my friends who are entirely new to the experience. All it takes is a glance at a “WordGirl Out Of Context” video to grasp just how bafflingly comedic the show is—from Becky’s family being entirely oblivious to her secret identity, to the game show running gag between episodes, to Becky/WordGirl angrily defining words at her family before slamming the door shut. So whether you are young or old, familiar or not, pop open a WordGirl episode, and give this surprisingly hilarious kid’s show a shot.