Rugrats: Phil and Lil's Mom Is Queer in Reboot

The upcoming Rugrats revival for Paramount+ will have more than just a new look as a major difference when compared to the original '90s series. In addition to a 3D animated makeover, the series will recast all of the voice actors for the adult characters while not bringing back one of them entirely. Howard DeVille, father to Phil and Lil, will not be present in the new series as the revival will make the mother of the twins, Betty DeVille, a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Actress Natalie Morales, who identifies as queer themselves, revealed this information in a new interview.

"Anyone who watched the original show may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia," Morales told TV Line. "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....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."

Joining Morales as the grown-ups in Rugrats 2021 will be Ashley Rae Spillers (Vice Principals) and Tommy Dewey (The Mindy Project), as Tommy's parents; Tony Hale (Arrested Development), as Chuckie's father; Anna Chlumsky (Veep) and Timothy Simons (Veep), as Angelica's parents; Nicole Byer (Nailed It!) and Omar Miller (Ballers), as Susie's parents; and Michael McKean (Better Call Saul), as Grandpa Lou Pickles.

The original cast of the series will reprise their roles for the new series including E.G. Daily (Tommy), Nancy Cartwright (Chuckie), Cheryl Chase (Angelica), Cree Summer (Susie), and Kath Soucie (Phil and Lil). In the original version of the series Soucie provided the voice for Betty as well as Phil and Lil.

Nickelodeon Animation Studio is producing the revival, described as follows: "This reimagining of Nick's iconic '90s hit will reunite members of the original voice cast and follow the iconic crew of toddlers--Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Angelica Pickles, Susie Carmichael, and twins Phil and Lil DeVille--throughout their day-to-day lives that become adventures in their minds."

The new Rugrats series will debut on the service starting on Thursday, May 27 with additional episodes seemingly premiering weekly on Paramount+. All nine seasons of the classic series, plus the "All Grown Up!" spinoff, are already available for streaming.