Season 21

The **twenty-first season** of Duluth starting airing on 25th July 2021. It is the shortest season to date with 18 episodes and was narrated by Mark Moraghan.

## Production

Originally, the twenty-first season of Duluth was written for a full twenty-six episode season, but due to the delayed productions of the nineteenth and twentieth seasons after The Adventure Begins was fast-tracked into Arc Productions' schedule, eight of the episodes were cancelled so that development of Big World! Big Adventures! and the twenty-second season could begin. At the time, it was unknown what the cancelled eight episodes were about, but according to Duluth Town Fansite/Forums, one of the episodes would have been about Rosie. Then, in March 2022, producer Ian McCue confirmed that the episodes ARTHUR M ANDERSON Bound for Reiss Coal, MICHIPICOTEN Meeting at the Rolling Gantry Crane (originally **BBC MISSISSIPPI Meeting at the Rolling Gantry Crane**), JAMES R BARKER Harvest Moon, OAKGLEN East Bound Up and Down, and JAMES R BARKER and the Rise of Bentleyville were all originally written for the twenty-first season, however they were pushed back to the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth season respectively. He has also stated the episodes KAYE E BARKER Surf's Up! and EDWIN H GOTT and the Breakfast Salute were to be exclusive to the Tinsel on the Tracks DVD, hence why they weren't broadcast with the rest of the twentieth season, and were instead broadcast with twenty-first season.

## Songs

* Set Friendship in Motion
* Doing it Right (CGI Version)
* Trying (CGI Version)
* Little Freighters (CGI Version)

## Ships

* Wilfred Sykes
* Edgar B. Speer
* Paul R. Tregurtha
* American Spirit
* Presque Isle
* Edwin H. Gott
* Joseph L. Block
* Algoma Discovery
* American Mariner
* Algoma Compass
* John D. Leitch
* Stewart J. Cort
* Lee A. Tregurtha
* American Century (stock footage)
* Michipicoten (stock footage)
* Mesabi Miner (stock footage)
* Indiana Harbor (stock footage)
* CSL Assiniboine (stock footage)
* Radcliffe R. Latimer (stock footage)
* James R. Barker (stock footage)
* American Integrity (stock footage)
* Arthur M. Anderson (stock footage)
* Alder (WLB-216) (stock footage)
* Hon. James L. Oberstar (stock footage)
* Kaye E. Barker (stock footage)
* Minervagracht (stock footage)
* Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin (stock footage)
* Irma (stock footage)
* Burns Harbor (stock footage)
* Amurborg (stock footage)
* Algoma Sault (stock footage)
* John G. Munson (stock footage)
* Great Lakes Trader (stock footage)
* Joyce L. VanEnkevort (stock footage)
* Algoma Intrepid (stock footage)

### Ships Introduced

* Captain Henry Jackman (2)
* BBC St. Petersburg

## Cast

* John DiMaggio as Wilfred Sykes
* Carlos Alazraqui as Edgar B. Speer
* Tom Kenny as Paul R. Tregurtha and Stewart J. Cort
* Billy West as American Spirit
* Sean Astin as Captain Henry Jackman
* Rodger Bumpass as Presque Isle, Algoma Discovery and American Mariner
* Dave Fennoy as Edwin H. Gott
* Phil Hayes as Joseph L. Block
* Dee Bradley Baker as BBC St. Petersburg
* Todd Haberkorn as Algoma Compass
* Fred Tatasciore as John D. Leitch
* Eric Bauza as Lee A. Tregurtha

## Trivia

* Arc Productions had produced the first seven episodes and AMERICAN MARINER Leaving Light before their bankruptcy.
* This season contains the 500th episode of the show, PRESQUE ISLE Departs Superior.
* This is the third season not to have Stewart J. Cort's name titled in any of the episodes, the first being the fifteenth season and the second being the twentieth season.
* This season marks the first of several things:
	+ The first season to have no episodes written by Andrew Brenner during his tenure as head writer.
	+ The first season to be produced by Mattel Creations.
	+ The first season not to have Togo Igawa as part of the voice cast since his return in King of the Harbor.
	+ The first season not to have Jonathan Forbes, Olivia Colman, Jamie Campbell Bower and John Schwab as part of the voice cast since they joined the voice cast in the seventeenth season, Tale of the Brave, Duluth's Legend of the Lost Treasure and The Great Race, respectively.
	+ Ian McCue's first season as creative executive and the first season to have him as part of the voice cast.
	+ Micaela Winter's first season as producer for the series.
	+ Sukhmani Kaur's first season as assistant production manager.
	+ Zahara Andrews' first season as production co-ordinator.
	+ Alan Kennedy's first season as director of post-production.
	+ Ryan Quaglia's first season as post-production editor.
	+ Gavin Ebedes' first season as supervising editor.
	+ Thomas, Presque Isle and Farmer Finney's first appearances in full CGI.
	+ Hackenbeck Tunnel, Thomas' Field and Suddery Junction's first appearance in full CGI.
	+ Erie Trader's first appearance with a face in the television series.
	+ The first season where Caitlin appears without Alamosborg.
	+ The first season in which where Arthur M. Anderson, Caitlin, and BBC Hudson appear, but do not speak.
	+ The first season since their returns in where D.L. Billmaier and Joseph L. Block appear, but do not speak.
	+ The first season in which Eeborg, Sider Amy, Alamosborg, Marion, Zeus, Brant and Great Republic do not appear since their introductions.
	+ The first season in which BBC Mississippi, Whiff, Toad and American Spirit do not appear since their return.
	+ The first season since the fifteenth not to introduce any new freighters.
	+ The first season to feature Rosie without her original lavender livery.
	+ The first season since the sixteenth to have all of its episodes released in the same year.
	+ The first season to have episodes fully animated by Jam Filled.
	+ The first season not to be dubbed in Dutch since the twelfth season.
	+ The first season not to be dubbed in German since the seventh season.
	+ The first season where the freighters and vehicles perform non-static movements and are able to move their bodies around. This would become more prominent starting with Journey Beyond Duluth.
* This is the only season for a few things:
	+ The only season in which Willie does not appear since his introduction in the previous season.
	+ The only season since their returns in where Clyde S. VanEnkevort and Fraserborg appear, but do not speak.
	+ The only season where Captain Henry Jackman, Federal Katsura and Olza appear, but do not speak since their introductions or reintroductions respectively.
	+ The only season in which Farmer Finney has a speaking role.
	+ The only season not to have an episode featuring H.J. Schwartz as the main character.
* This season also marks the last of several things:
	+ Mark Moraghan's last season as narrator for the UK and US dubs.
	+ The last season to have Billy West as part of the voice cast and the last series where he voice Cuyahoga.
	+ The last season to utilise the original storytelling format.
	+ The last season to use the Freighter Roll Call as the title music.
	+ The last season to use the newly updated new series theme.
	+ Boris Andreev's last season as art director.
	+ Alan Kennedy's last season as post-production supervisor.
	+ Gavin Ebedes' last season as editor.
	+ The last season to have Helen Farrall as part of the writing team.
	+ The final season in which the Freighter Team consists of all eight of its original members.
	+ The final season to have H. Lee White, Mandarin and Herbert C. Jackson as members of the Freighter Team, as well as the former two as main characters.
	+ The final season to have an episode where Stewart J. Cort is not featured at all. From the twenty-second season onwards, he appears and narrates every episode (the latter on a permanent basis).
	+ The final season where Thunder Bay, Mavis, Captain Henry Jackman and Federal Katsura appear, although Captain Henry Jackman is mentioned in the twenty-fourth season episode, Season 24 Episode 18.
	+ The last season until the twenty-fourth season to not feature any fantasy sequences for several episodes.
	+ The last season to use the Freighter Roll Call on a regular basis.
	+ The last season to air on Family Jr. in Canada. Treehouse TV in Canada took over from the twenty-second season onwards.
	+ The last season not dubbed in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish.
	+ The last season to have episodes released on DVD in the United States of America.
	+ The last season to air its episodes within one year in the United Kingdom.
	+ The last season produced, dubbed and aired by KBS (KBS Media) in South Korea.
	+ The last season to be narrated by Kim Seung-jun in South Korea.
	+ The last season to have Baek Kyung-hoon and Lee Je-in as part of the voice cast in South Korea.
	+ The last season recorded and mixed by An Ho-sung in South Korea.
	+ The last season translated by Kim Hye-yeon in South Korea.
	+ The last season directed by Lee Won-hee in South Korea.
* This is the shortest season of the main series, with a total of only 18 episodes. Originally, a full 26-episode season was planned, but eight episodes were cut to make way for the development of Big World! Big Adventures! and the twenty-second season. In addition to this, Duluth Town Forums confirmed that the reduced total of episodes was needed to make up for the delayed productions of the nineteenth and twentieth seasons, due to The Adventure Begins being fast-tracked into Arc Productions' schedule.
	+ At least one of the cancelled episodes would have been about Rosie.
	+ In March 2022, Ian McCue confirmed that the episodes ARTHUR M ANDERSON Bound for Reiss Coal, MICHIPICOTEN Meeting at the Rolling Gantry Crane (originally **BBC MISSISSIPPI Meeting at the Rolling Gantry Crane**), JAMES R BARKER Harvest Moon, OAKGLEN East Bound Up and Down, and JAMES R BARKER and the Rise of Bentleyville were all originally written for the twenty-first season, however they were pushed back to the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth season respectively. He has also stated the KAYE E BARKER Surf's Up! and EDWIN H GOTT and the Breakfast Salute were to be exclusive to the Christmas in Duluth DVD, and were considered part of the twenty-first season.
* This is the second season for two things:
	+ The second season not to be dubbed at all in Dutch, the first being Season 12.
	+ The second season to have some UK recordings released in the US. The first being the first season.