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By Jonathan Klotz | Published
Last week the news broke through The Hollywood Reporter that sesame street It would soon be left without a streaming home after Warner Bros Discovery decided not to renew the show’s contract with HBO. Since 2018, the most popular children’s educational program in history has been part of HBO and, later, of Max, where it will remain, or at least should remain, until 2027, when the streaming contract ends. What that contract doesn’t cover, however, are new seasons, with season 55 being the last available on Max, and the fate of season 56 is up in the air.
Sesame Street is homeless
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav may be making shareholders happy with his cost-cutting measures. Still, it managed to anger thousands, if not millions, of consumers. By pulling entire animated shows from Max without licensing them to another company, the number of shows that may never see the light of day again has skyrocketed under his leadership. sesame streetDespite being an American institution, it was not spared from its cost reduction, since hundreds of episodes have already been removed from Max.
Although it was under Zaslav’s direction that sesame street After being removed, the huge number of episodes, more than 5,000, attracts other streaming services that are not run by a CEO who thinks the best way to gain audiences is through another spin-off of Property Brothers. Sesame Workshop, the independent company behind the series, still has its deal with PBS. The Public Broadcasting Station has been criticized for years as a potential federal budget cut, and even if it remains, its future is uncertain. It can no longer support the program on its own, hence the need for a streaming partner.
Sesame Street is undergoing major changes
Season 56 sesame street It may not happen for a while, but when it does, not only will it be the first of new seasons with its new streaming partner, but it will also be a dramatic format change. The classic short segment style of the series is being restructured into shorter episodes with greater narrative, 123 stories. The show has changed formats before, going from 60 minutes in 2016 to 30 minutes, but no matter what, Elmo’s hatred of Rocco must continue.
The shift to more narrative segments that include world building could be a response to the current king of children’s programming, bluishthe incredibly charming Australian show about what life with kids is really like. The difference between the two is that sesame street It’s more like a traditional classroom, with each segment focused on a lesson to be learned, and while it’s fun, thanks to the Muppet characters, it’s obviously learning. bluish It encourages a different type of learning, one that focuses more on understanding the world and the importance of play in children’s development, and both are exceptional together; They’re some of the best shows ever made, but it’s clear why PBS’ older series are changing again with the times.
Nobody knows what Warner Bros. is doing.
Warner Bros. Discovery is also going through a period of change, which is why leadership decided that sesame street It no longer fits the type of content they want in Max. Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Abby, Rosita, Bert, Ernie and everyone else have been sent to the streets because Warner Bros Discovery wants to focus on “family friendly” shows, like the upcoming Harry Potter series that no one asked about. for.
Someone, be it Amazon or Netflix, will probably take over sesame streetbut until 2027, the show’s entire back catalog will be trapped in Max, meaning you can count on whoever picks the show to have a big celebration when all 5,000+ episodes are available again, while at the same time Zaslav is ask why. Max is the laughing stock of the streaming industry.
