HBO, the sandbox where murderers, elaborate penis jokes, and rape controversies play together, will soon be the home of Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop announced today that the next five seasons of the beloved children’s show will be “available on HBO and its multiplex channels, HBO GO, HBO On Demand, [and] HBO NOW.” Don’t let Lil’ Jenny find out what Girls is.
As a key part of the deal, Sesame will be able to produce almost twice as much new content as previous seasons, and for the first time ever, make the show available free to PBS and its member stations after a nine-month window.
There will also be a Sesame Street spin-off series (George R.R. Martin might be interested; he’s basically a human Muppet), and “HBO has also licensed over 150 library episodes.”
“I’ve long admired the creative work of HBO and can’t think of a better partner to continue the quality of Sesame Street’s programming,” commented Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder of Sesame Street. “Over the past decade, both the way in which children are consuming video and the economics of the children’s television production business have changed dramatically. In order to fund our nonprofit mission with a sustainable business model, Sesame Workshop must recognize these changes and adapt to the times.”
Episodes will continue to air on PBS as they have for decades, but now kids can learn about the birds and the bees, and THE BIRDS AND THE BEES, on the same channel.
https://twitter.com/darth/status/631850803284844544
https://twitter.com/darth/status/631856008219000833
Yes, the clues to this HBO / Sesame Street partnership were subtle, but they were out there. pic.twitter.com/hPYOiFRGh1
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 13, 2015
