It’s Been 30 Years Since The Big Comfy Couch First Brought Us To Clowntown

I was a kid during the golden age of children’s programming — Barney, Sesame Street, and Blue’s Clues were constantly on, and Nick Jr. still had Face introducing the next show between commercials. Personally, I also couldn’t get enough of the Disney lineup that gave us PB&J Otter, Rolie Polie Olie, Out of the Box, and Bear in the Big Blue House. Yep, we early ‘90s babies had it good. But no show had a harder chokehold on me than The Big Comfy Couch, which came to public television in the United States 30 years ago.

If the specifics are a little hazy, let me remind you of The Big Comfy Couch’s premise: young clown Loonette lives with her best friend, a sentient doll named Molly, and they spend a lot of time on their giant floral-patterned couch. They read together, do stretches on Loonette’s clock rug, and do 10-second tidies of various messes. For her part, Molly doesn’t talk much, but she ardently believes in living, breathing dust bunnies residing under their couch (which they do — they’re named Fuzzy and Wuzzy). Loonette and Molly also pay visits to Loonette’s grandmother, Granny Garbanzo, and her cat Snicklefritz, as well as other Clowntown residents, like Major Bedhead, the town’s mailman.‌

I would watch all my favorite shows in the basement of my childhood home, with its dark green carpet and giant honey oak entertainment center. I’d collect all my Big Comfy Couch stuffies — the Loonette with her plastic curls, Molly, Fuzzy, Wuzzy, and Snickelfritz alike — and together we’d dutifully follow along with all the Clock Rug Stretches and 10-Second Tidies.

I’d pack them up and cart them with me (or, rather, my mom would) to my grandmother’s house, where I also screened so many episodes she and my grandpa had their own favorite characters (the dust bunnies). And I still remember how my poor Snickelfritz plush’s red nose had a few tiny punctures in it, likely from my grandparents’ little poodle, Bitsy, taking a nibble. Or maybe it was our cantankerous dog Annabelle — the details are hazy. Either way, it was an injustice to my dear feline friend.

The anniversary of The Big Comfy Couch’s transition to American public TV (it’s a Canadian show and aired there two years prior) came to many millennials’ attention because of the brand Retrokid, which posted an announcement of a new BCC merch collection featuring photos of Alyson Court, who played Loonette, and her sidekick Molly wearing the goods. I, for one, am now in desperate need of their Big Comfy Couch bag charm and a Fuzzy & Wuzzy T-shirt.

I’m not the only one who spent a significant slice of their childhood watching Loonette and Molly — Reddit is awash in people posting about being nostalgic for The Big Comfy Couch and its cast of clowns. While the show went off the air in 2006, Court went on to voice act in countless cartoons and video games, and recently acted as the voice director for Netflix’s The Magic School Bus Rides Again reboot. So, she’s still working in children’s media, and something about that feels like a warm hug.

You can still find full episodes of The Big Comfy Couch on YouTube, and it’s also available to stream for free on Tubi, Pluto, and Sling TV. In a year where public television and children’s programming are under attack, bringing back nostalgic hits from public media when we were kids just feels right.