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Five months after Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to renew its deal for the iconic children’s program Sesame Street on HBO and Max, streaming giant Netflix has stepped in to save the beloved show, signing a deal with Sesame Workshop to air new episodes on both the streaming platform and PBS.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this new deal will differ from the one made with HBO as new episodes of Sesame Street will air concurrently on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app in order to make it accessible to all. Previously, episodes would only debut on PBS months after first arriving on HBO and its Max streaming service.
“This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love,” said Sesame Workshop CEO Sherri Westin in a statement to the media.
Netflix’s deal with Sesame Street will begin later this year with season 56 of the show, which is set to be a reimagining of the program’s format, dropping its long-running “magazine”-style format in favour of longer narrative-driven segments. In addition, a new animated segment called Tales From 123 will be incorporated into the episodes amidst its traditional live-action portions, with Netflix adding that the new season will be released in three batches.
Netflix is also set to provide expanded access to the program for free, ensuring that the legacy of the long-running TV show remains secure for years to come. The new deal with Netflix and PBS not only marks good tidings financially for the Sesame Workshop non-profit, but also allows millions of children worldwide to continue enjoying to stories of Elmo and his friends as they set forth on a journey to their new home.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Ting Wei
Si Jia
