“Sesame Street” will live to see another day … on Netflix.
The leading streaming platform announced Monday its new deal with Sesame Workshop, the production company behind the long-running children’s series — following its surprising HBO Max cancellation last year.
The new partnership entails for new episodes of “Sesame Street” from its 56th season to begin streaming later this year.
With Netflix, the show will remain available on PBS which launched the groundbreaking series in 1969.
“This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love,” new Sesame Workshop CEO Sherri Westin said in a statement on LinkedIn.
Season 56 of “Sesame Street” will be reimagined, adopting a different format from before — centering “on one 11-minute story” — and the inclusion of a new animated segment, titled “Tales From 123.” Netflix said the new season will be rolled out in three “batches.”
With new head writer Halcyon Person in the mix, new episodes of “Sesame Street” will also premiere on PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day.
According to Monday’s announcement of the deal, “the new season will feature fresh format changes and the return of fan-favorite segments like Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck. Expect new ways to play along as Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street, and explore Abby’s Fairy Garden, a home to surprising and delightful magical creatures.”
Ninety hours of previous “Sesame Street” episodes will be available to Netflix viewers along with the upcoming season.
The streamer also has plans to develop video games based on characters from the famous franchise.
No specific premiere date has been announced.
Last December, HBO Max’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that it did not renew a previous five-year deal that made Sesame Street available on the platform.
