In an unprecedented coup for youth-oriented television programming, Sesame Street has entered a new distribution contract with Netflix. This agreement ensures that the popular adventure-themed series will continue to be available to fans worldwide. This agreement ensures the continuation of Sesame Street’s historic run on PBS. As such, the nearly 50-year-old show has been a powerful part of an educational foundation for children. The partnership will bring new episodes for the hit series to Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app simultaneously. This is an amazing beginning to a new chapter for the legendary program!
Since then, Sesame Street has enchanted audiences across over 150 countries. It has a truly dazzling array of awards, including more than 200 Emmy Awards, along with numerous Grammy Awards and Peabody Awards. The series was awarded a lifetime artistic achievement Kennedy Center Honor in 2019. It’s no surprise that this prestigious award would honor its groundbreaking influence on children’s media.
As a result, Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t renew its licensing agreement for new episodes to continue airing on HBO and Max. This has led to the conception of this new partnership. Episodes will continue to be accessible on those platforms through 2027. We’re looking ahead to the farther, much more amazing possibilities that Netflix is opening up.
Sal Perez, the executive producer of Sesame Street and a vice president at Sesame Workshop, emphasized the importance of character connection in the new content. He stated, “The more kids want to hang out with our characters on ‘Sesame Street,’ the more they’re going to take in those lessons.” This enriching experience fits perfectly with the show’s goal of educating and inspiring children on deeper emotional and intellectual levels.
We’re hoping that the new Season 56 will include deeper segments focused on character building and engaging the viewer’s emotional state. With one 11-minute story in focus each episode, we can develop a deeper narrative arc that will really speak to kids in the most honest way possible.
Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, expressed her enthusiasm for the innovative collaboration. She remarked, “I strongly believe that our educational programming for children is one of the most important aspects of our service to the American people, and ‘Sesame Street’ has been an integral part of that critical work for more than half a century.”
And to have Sesame Workshop and Netflix together in this way is really a remarkable public-private partnership. They dream of expanding the availability of Sesame Street’s research-based curriculum far and wide. The national nonprofit is committed to bringing all children in the United States, particularly those who need it most, free access to the popular series. For one, they’re using Netflix’s global platform to reach new young adult audiences across the globe.
