Big Bird, Elmo, and Oscar the Grouch will soon be searching for a new home, as Warner Bros. has decided new episodes of the long-running children’s show Sesame Street will no longer air on HBO or the Max streaming service.
When Sesame Street transitioned from PBS to streaming on Max, many believed the show, which debuted in 1969, had found its permanent home. However, Warner Bros. Discovery’s shift in streaming strategy has left the cast and crew, both human and Muppet, seeking a new broadcasting partner.
Big Bird on Sesame Street – YouTube, Sesame Street
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“It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic children’s series, and we are thrilled to keep some of the library series on Max in the U.S.,” a Max spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “As we’ve launched Max though and based on consumer usage and feedback, we’ve had to prioritize our focus on stories for adults and families, and so new episodes from Sesame Street, at this time, are not as core to our strategy.”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision raises eyebrows, considering the popularity of Bluey, an Australian children’s show that streams on Disney Plus. Bluey is the most watched show on streaming, so it’s clear that a market exists for exclusive children’s content on streaming platforms. However, WBD, burdened with $40 billion in debt, appears focused on trimming its platform ahead of high-budget projects like its upcoming Harry Potter reboot series.
Bluey and Bingo are super excited when Dad brings out Unicorse! – Disney+
Max will continue streaming older Sesame Street seasons through 2027. However, the platform recently removed hundreds of older episodes to cut costs.
This cancellation allows Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind the show, to find a new distribution partner. It’s unclear whether the existing deal to stream older episodes on Max will affect Sesame Street’s ability to leverage its extensive library, which spans more than five decades.
“We are excited to extend our ten-year partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, keeping Sesame Street’s iconic library available on Max through 2027,” a Sesame Workshop spokesperson said. “We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that Sesame Street reaches as many children as possible for generations to come.”
Super Grover on Sesame Street – YouTube, Sesame Street
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Sesame Workshop will make significant changes to the show in its upcoming fifty-sixth season.
The long-running kids’ program will get a new look, as the Workship drops the “magazine”-style format viewers have grown accustomed to over the years. Instead, Sesame Street will lean into longer narrative-led segments. These narratives will pair with a new animated series called Tales From 123. This represents the biggest change to the show since its runtime shifted from an hour to thirty minutes in 2016.
“It’s going to give us an opportunity to dive further into the narrative,” Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive VP and Chief Dreative Development and Production Officer for Sesame Workshop said. She also called these changes a “reimagining” of the show. Wilson Stallings believes that adding longer narrative segments allows for more “dynamic” and “sophisticated” stories in this show about singing monsters that teach you how to count.
Cookie Monster in the classic 1978 special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street – YouTube, Sesame Street Kai
The Children’s Television Workshop created Sesame Street in 1969 in collaboration with Jim Henson. The show, ahead of its time, featured a vibrant urban setting where a diverse cast of children and adults interacted with Henson’s beloved Muppet characters. These included Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, The Count, Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert & Ernie, and more. Kermit the Frog, Henson’s most famous character, also appeared in the show’s early years.
Do you think Sesame Street will find a new home? How do you feel about Warner Bros. effectively cancelling Sesame Street? Will it return to network television or land on another streaming service? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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It is better cancelled than even more ruined by woke insanity like an AIDS muppet or homeless one.
This generation simply can’t handle anything from the 80s and 90s, which is a damn shame.
Not to be contrarian, but according to some definitions of the word “woke”, Sesame Street has always been that. The diversity, covering difficult real world topics that most kid shows didn’t touch before (death and divorce for instance, especially in the 80’s), the celeb cameos, many of which are/were left leaning, the list goes on. The viewpoint that the show has suddenly shifted is a bit odd to me.
There was a Black Mirror episode about a kid’s puppet spewing government propaganda. That’s what I thought of when I saw Cookie Monster’s Twitter account talking about shrinkflation.
It’s funny that they probably wanted to make fun of that anti-Semitic Palestinian mascot, but now they’re actually unintentionally parodying Western children’s media.
Cookie Monster became liberal? What a travesty. Stupid pbs.
I am sadly not making it up. Google “cookie monster shrinkflation”
Perhaps it’s best to let a no longer intriguing, nor important show run its course and close the book on it. I’m sure some creep in portland will pour the tiniest bit of his schitty ipa out in homage to Big Bird and ole’ Snuffy.
I used to watch old episodes with my kids from when I was little. They liked them good enough. Sometimes a thing just runs its course and it’s time to let it go.
WB never should’ve bought it to begin with.