(Photo: HBO)
Sesame Street will not look the same if it returns for a 56th season. Earlier this month, it was revealed that HBO had not renewed the children’s series beyond season 55.
Since Fall 2016 and season 46, new half-hour episodes of Sesame Street have been premiering on HBO as part of a multi-year deal that provided Sesame Workshop, the non-profit corporation that produces the show, the financial means to to continue making the series. PBS viewers would get to see the episodes for free nine months later.
New details about the series’ possible future are being revealed for the potential 56th season, which has yet to find a home. The world is different from when Sesame Street began in 1969. There are lots of other programs for young children and kids learn things at younger ages, meaning the show needs to do things differently. According to Sesame’s research, the program now works for most two and three-year-olds. When viewers reach ages four or five, they see it as a baby show and are ready to move on.
With that in mind, those at Sesame Workshop began revamping the series, and the reimagined version of the show will focus on just four main characters – Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, and Grover. The hope is that by narrowing the episodes’ focus, children will feel a deeper connection with the characters.
According to the The Washington Post, episodes that will air in season 56 and beyond will “be anchored by two longer, character-driven stories with ‘more conflict and more peril’ and deeper character development.”
Other beloved characters like Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, The Count, and Oscar the Grouch, introduced in the series’ early days, will only have supporting roles and pop up occasionally.
The four main characters are being chosen because they “resonate most with our audience,” according to Kay Wilson Stallings, the chief creative development and production officer at Sesame Workshop.
By 2026, Sesame Street will hopefully have a new home to go with its new look.
What do you think? Are you and your family fans of this children’s program? Are you hoping to see it continue? Will you continue to watch it with the proposed changes?
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