The Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and the rest of the gang are leaving Max. Sesame Street, the educational series and beloved cult classic, has found a new home on Netflix.
The deal between Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, and Netflix follows the Warner Bros. Discovery announcement that it won’t renew its five-year contract to distribute the show on Max (from summer 2025: HBO Max). Warner’s decision was related to a change in strategy for its streaming service.
As the spokeperson for Max stated (via The Hollywood Reporter):
It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic children’s series and we are thrilled to be able to keep some of the library series on Max in the US. 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.
However, it doesn’t mean that Sesame Street will immediately disappear from Max – the series will be available on the platform through 2027. As planned, the 55th and latest season of Sesame Street will premiere on Max.
Old seasons of Sesame Street will appear on Netflix later this year, with season 56 premiering on the service. At this stage, exact dates are unknown – check back to to find out more as soon as we know.
According to Sesame Workshop (via Variety):
We are excited to announce that all new ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are coming to Netflix worldwide along with library episodes, and new episodes will also release the same day on PBS Stations and PBS Kids platforms in the U.S., preserving a 50+ year relationship. The support of Netflix, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting serve as a unique public-private partnership to enable Sesame Street to continue to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.
Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Development and Production Officer for Sesame Workshop, revealed that Sesame Street will be reimagined on Netflix. The segments will be longer and the stories more sophisticated, and the show will be enriched with a new animated series, Tales From 123. The much-loved Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck segments will also return.
It’s worth noting that Netflix will also develop video games for Sesame Street, as well as Sesame Street Mecha Builders.
Of course, US-based viewers will still be able to catch episodes of Sesame Street daily on PBS stations and PBS Kids digital platforms.
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