Cartoon Network shows are very different from how they were 30 years ago. CN has changed, for better or for worse, for new generations to enjoy. Many millennials, however, don’t like the new Cartoon Network, and find that it doesn’t have the same nostalgia associated with shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy or Regular Show. But there is one new generation show that seems to appeal to all ages: Craig of the Creek.
In short, Craig of the Creek is the embodiment of child innocence. The show primarily follows Craig Williams, a 10 year old boy, and his two best friends, Kelsey and JP, as they play in the creek behind their neighborhood. There are many groups of children who like to play in the creek: the 10 Speeds, Tea Timers, Ninja Kids, Junior Forest Scouts, Horse Girls, and many more. Most of the episodes are of the children finding different ways to have fun in the creek, or Craig helping other kids in the creek. However, there are some more family based episodes.

Many of the episodes are just the kids playing simple childhood games: “the floor is lava”, staring contests, freeze tag, or hide and seek. There are also many episodes that show off the character's childish innocence. There are two characters referred to as “The Witches of the Creek”; they got this name after being found playing with tarot cards in the creek during season one. ​

​From then on, Craig, Kelsey, and JP are completely convinced they are real witches. They  even come to them periodically to do rituals like making it snow, so they could have a snow day. There’s an episode where Craig makes a friend with a girl who’s homeschooled by writing letters back and forth. Since the girl never deliberately stated she was homeschooled, Craig comes up with the justification that she’s from a different universe, and that’s why they could never see each other. Thus, he called on the alliance of science to help him build a portal in order for him to see her. ​
Craig of the Creek’s  popularity primarily comes from the amount of diversity and representation in the show. Not only that, but also how the writers go about implementing said representation.
For one, the representation of an African American family structure is one that many black people of all ages relate to. The way the show depicts black culture is spot on. Though Craig lives in a suburban neighborhood, there’s also representation of black culture in the city via his cousin, Bryson. The way the Williams family talks is primarily what gives the good representation. Many depictions of black people in the media are either harmful or not completely accurate, making black people either seem loud and  “ghetto” or civilized and whitewashed. Craig of The Creek doesn’t put any emphasis on the Williams family behaving a certain way, but still allows them to have aspects of black culture. For example, Craig of the Creek utilizes phrases that practically every black child could relate to, such as:  “You smell like outside” and “Don’t touch nothing. Matter of fact don’t even look at it”. And in one episode, Craig got “roasted” , being called “big-headed and ashy”. Rather than these words being used to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of black people, it allowed for black people to laugh and reminisce on the moments of their childhood when they, too, heard these phrases.
In addition to black culture, many other cultures get a spotlight. For example, in the episode “Sink or Swim Team”, Craig gets to learn about Filipino culture when invited to his friend Eileen the Sewer Queen’s house, so she doesn’t get caught for skipping swim practice. Craig is taught about a tradition of blessing the elders of the household, and he is taught some of Eileen’s native language, Bisaya or Cebuano. Another example is the episode “The Legend of the Library”, where the show pays tribute to the legend of La Llorona. Then there’s the episode “Grandma Smugglers”, where Craig helps his friend Raj show his grandmother a spot in the Creek that reminds her of her life back in India.
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There are so many characters of different backgrounds in the show, so there's a chance for practically everyone to see a little bit of themselves. Yes, there are other shows that have good levels of diversity, but what makes Craig of The Creek so refreshing is how the diversity is presented as just normal. No character has ever had any issues with the way the other kids chose to play, or what the other kids' home life is like. ​
Family structures are another big part of the representation. A lot of kids, in real life, don’t have perfect nuclear families, and the show has a good way of showing this. For instance, with the main three kids, Craig has a two parent household with two siblings, JP lives with his older sister (and his mom is away a lot because she’s a pilot, so JP is alone at times), and Kelsey is an only child with a single father because her mom died. In the episode “Scoutguest,” a character named Jason asks to stay at Craig’s house because he has nowhere else to go. When Craig’s mom calls Jason’s parents, Jason’s absence is blown off and the parents ask if they can keep Jason for the night. Though it isn’t explicitly stated, this episode alludes to a child with neglectful parents. There’s also episodes where a character named Sparkle Cadet expresses her feelings about her family having to move all the time, and how she never gets to keep in touch with her friends.
The way sexuality and gender identity  is presented in the show is very similar. The problem people often have with queer representation in shows is that it can feel a bit overbearing. In Craig of the Creek, characters of different sexual orientations aren’t seen as abnormal, and sexuality isn’t seen as something that needs to be further explained. There are many instances of LGBTQ+ characters being casually mentioned, or even getting the spotlight. But rather than it being depicted as a specifically queer relationship, it's just a relationship, or it's just a crush. This is evident in Kelsey’s character, who ends up with a character nicknamed “Stacks” in the episode “Fire & Ice.” They realize their feelings for each other as they are collaborating on a book called “Fire and Ice” for their book club. When reading the book to their friends, Kelsey and Stacks are told that they resemble the characters in the book, who happen to be lovers. Kelsey gets scared of the possibility of having feelings for Stacks, not because she’s scared of being gay but because she doesn’t want anything to change between her and Stacks.

​Ultimately, Kelsey gets advice from JP’s sister’s girlfriend about it–again, not because she’s gay, but because she’s an author. There’s also nonbinary representation in the character “Angel.” Angel runs the Creek daycare, taking care of the kids who are too young to play by themselves. Not once is it mentioned that Angel is nonbinary, but everyone used they/them pronouns when referring to them. ​
Craig of The Creek is specifically in the perspective of the children. Rather than having episodes specifically centered around societal issues, gender identity, or sexuality, there are characters that just happen to be a different race or sexuality, and that’s what makes the show so refreshing. People are allowed to live differently without question. The biggest conflict of Craig of the Creek is that a kid from the other side of the Creek is trying to take over their side by bribing the kids with candy. They solve this problem with a game of capture the flag, like good civilians. After Craig wins the game of capture the flag, all peace is restored to the Creek, and everyone is friends because it was just a game. 
Children’s shows are changing, and that’s okay.  Many people like the changes being made to children’s media. I think if more shows like Craig of the Creek continue to be released, then it will be a positive change not only for the media, but for all people, especially children. ​

Angel Cal