Hey Arnold! is an American animated television series created by Craig Bartlett that aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandparents in an inner-city tenement in the fictional city of Hillwood. Episodes center on his experiences navigating urban life while dealing with the zany hijinks he and his friends encounter. Many episodes, however, focus on other characters, including major, secondary, supporting, and even minor characters.

Plot

Hey Arnold! takes place in the urban fictional American city of Hillwood. Creator Craig Bartlett described the city as "an amalgam of large northern cities I have loved, including Seattle (my hometown), Portland (where I went to art school) and Brooklyn (the bridge, the brownstones, the subway)"; the city also contains inspirations from Chicago, such as a baseball field called Quigley Field (a reference to the real-life Wrigley Field). Evan Levine of the Houston Chronicle commented on the series's "backdrop of dark streets, nighttime adventures and rundown buildings, all seen from a child's point of view."