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Sesame Street Debuts On HBO, New Season Has Some Changes

By Dee Sharp
Published on: 15:59 PST, Jan 17, 2016

An article written on Patch gives us a view on some changes made to Sesame Street, which debuted on HBO Saturday, January 16. A major change is that the series will be a 30-minute format instead of 60 minutes. This is the 46th season the popular children’s show has been airing on the Public Broadcasting Service. The first two new episodes aired Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Each Saturday, there will be an episode that starts at 9 a.m. and is repeated at 9:30 a.m. Spanish dubbed episodes will air at the same time on HBO Latino. If you want to be nostalgic, past season episodes of Sesame Street will air at 8 a.m. every day on HBO Kids, there will be more than 150 episodes from five seasons streaming on HBO Now and HBO Go, according to the Patch article.

PBS will also continue to air Sesame Street on weekdays and Sunday. The new season of Sesame Street which debuted on HBO is scheduled to air on PBS in the fall. Other changes in the show include new opening and closing songs, and an updated set. There is also a new segment called “Smart Cookies” and a new Latino cast member, Suki Lopez. Executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente said that the show will have “more of everything” that “engages kids” and “parents love,” according to research. Parente also said there will be more music and more interaction with a focus on a “core group of characters.”

“We have a lot of characters for a show that’s for very young kids and they get lost (with) too many characters. We’ll see all the characters, but the core you’ll see every day so the kids can build a relationship with those characters.”

Parente continued talking about the changes in the show by saying the lessons will be smarter, stronger and kinder “in a child-relevant topic,” such as bedtime, boo-boos, and animals according to the Patch article. Parente says that every segment in an episode will relate to the episode’s theme. Celebrity guests will be in abundance according to Parente, saying that Nick Jonas will be singing “the sexiest song about triangles you’ll ever hear.” One question comes to mind: “Are we ready for ‘sexy’ on Sesame Street?” Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, Sara Bareilles, Ne-Yo, Fifth Harmony, as well as actors Alan Cumming, Gina Rodriquez, and others are scheduled to appear on the new Sesame Street.

Also according to the Patch article, characters of the show will also have new homes. For example, Elmo is moving into the 123 Sesame Street brownstone, Cookie Monster moved above Hooper’s Store, and Big Bird has a new nest.

The New York Post also wrote about the debut of Sesame Street on HBO. The Post mentions Suki Lopez as well and says that she will play the character of Nina, a bilingual Hispanic woman. Nina works at the neighborhood laundromat and the bike store. Nina will pop in from time to time to help the Muppets solve life problems such as how to calm down before bedtime.

Did you watch the Sesame Street debut on HBO Saturday, and if so what did you like about it? Please feel free to comment below.

[Image Via YouTube/HBO]

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