In the new “Rugrats” reboot, Phil and Lil’s mom, Betty DeVille, has some news to share.
The fictional character, who was originally portrayed by actor Kath Soucie, is “an out queer person” in the Paramount+ reboot of the animated series, according to queer actor Natalie Morales, who voices Betty in the reboot.
In the original series, which ran from 1991 to 2004, Betty was married to Howard DeVille and the couple had twins, a son named Phil and a daughter named Lil. But Morales, who is queer, told The A.V. Club that Betty has since come out.
“Anyone who watched the original show may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia,” the actor said.
In the reboot, Betty owns a café called Betty’s Beans. The character loves football and often jokes about her ex-girlfriends.
Morales told The A.V. Club that she feels lucky to have the opportunity to bring the character back and help represent the queer community.
“Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that,” she said.
The 36-year-old also recalled how she wished she had role models like Betty when she was watching cartoons as a child.
“And yeah, Betty is a fictional cartoon, but even cartoons were hugely influential for me as a kid, and if I’d been watching ‘Rugrats’ and seen Betty casually talking about her ex-girlfriend, I think at least a part of me would have felt like things might be OK in the future,” she said.
“Rugrats” isn’t the only popular show from the ’90s and early 2000s to get a revival. Earlier this month, Variety reported that another Nickelodeon show, “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” will be getting a second life on The CW. In 2018, the network also revived its messy game show “Double Dare.”
The hit ’90s show “Saved By the Bell” was revived for Peacock and premiered last November. The sitcom has already been renewed for a second season. The streaming service also rebooted the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “Punky Brewster.”
Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.
This story was originally published on TODAY.com.
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