Sesame Street is about to enter its new era now that Elmo has experinced what it’s like to reinvent oneself. The series will get a fresh new makeover for its 56th season, which is aiming to debut in 2025.
The series will drop its familiar “magazine-style” format and instead present two 11-minute, narrative-driven stories per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This will give the team an opportunity to dive into more “dynamic” and “sophisticated” stories that naturally come up on any given street, like “How do all of the streetlights know when to come on at night?” or “Why does this trash can moss monster keep stealing my mail?” or “Why do they have to bring the loud trash truck around at 5 am? Can’t they just come at 8 am when the sun is already up????” You know, normal neighborhood things.
In between each segment will be a new animated series, Tales From 123. Sesame Workshop executive VP and production officer Kay Wilson Stallings told THR that this will open up a whole new world for the street. “For the very first time, [Tales From 123] will give viewers an opportunity to go inside 123 Sesame Street, which is probably the most famous apartment building in the world.” They did not, however, receive clearance from Oscar, who resides in the trash can outside 123, so we aren’t allowed in there. Please scram accordingly.
In addition to the new style, Wilson Stallings says that every episode will have a signature song, which she hopes will be sung by some famous singers. Perhaps Taylor Swift can stop by and teach some basic math since she’s really good at that.
The timing is interesting, as Sesame Workshop’s five-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery will end next year, meaning that if this new format goes well, they might want to renew for even more grouchy Oscar content. We can have 50 more years of this.
