In an era of streaming TV where a series is lucky to get a second season, it’s easy to forget about the shows that have been around forever. Sesame Street has been entertaining and educating children for 55 years, but has that epic run come to an end?
Recent reports have claimed Sesame Street has been canceled. There’s actually some truth to the claim, but the reality is a bit more nebulous as the future of Sesame Street simply isn’t known right now. Here’s what’s really going on.
Sesame Street Will No Longer Make New Episodes For Max
Sesame Street was a mainstay of PBS for over 40 years, running on public television from its inception in 1969 until 2016. At that point, Sesame Workshop, the parent company behind the show, signed a deal with Warner Bros. that brought Sesame Street to HBO and made it available with a Max subscription starting in 2020.
This week it was announced that the upcoming Season 55 of Sesame Street set to begin airing on Max in January, will be the last season under the current deal, and WB will not be renewing its distribution deal with Sesame Workshop. The Sesame Street library currently found on Max will be available through 2027.
The original deal for Sesame Steet was met with some criticism when the show made its jump from PBS, and some longtime Sesame Street cast parted ways with the show shortly after, but there were upsides to the deal. Sesame Street nearly doubled its episode output, from 18 episodes in its last season with PBS, to 35 on HBO. Spinoff shows were also created. The show was made available to PBS stations a few months after debuting. At the time it was said Sesame Street wouldn't have continued without the HBO deal.
The Future Of Sesame Street Is Unclear
However, now that WB isn’t paying to make new Sesame Street, the question becomes, who will? While Sesame Workshop certainly will go looking for a new home for its iconic and important series, Sesame Street is functionally canceled right now, as it’s leaving Max with no other home in sight. If it can’t find one, then the show may truly be over.
As a dad who grew up watching Sesame Street and with kids of Sesame Street viewing age, I certainly hope that the show finds a new home. A world without Big Bird and Elmo in it would be a sad world indeed. A return to production at PBS seems unlikely given the incoming political climate, but perhaps another streamer, kid-friendly Disney+ seems like an obvious possibility, could pick up the show and continue the deal that will also keep the show airing on PBS as it has for 55 years.