The series has found a new home on the streaming service following the expiration of its contract with Warner Bros. Discovery
Elmo’s brief unemployment era is over. Sesame Street has found a new home at Netflix following the expiration of its contract with Warner Bros. Discovery, which began in 2016 when new episodes went into production at HBO after the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, could no longer afford the expenses required to keep the series afloat.
“We are excited to announce that all new Sesame Street episodes are coming to @netflix worldwide along with library episodes, and new episodes will also release the same day on @PBS Stations and
@PBSKIDS platforms in the US, preserving a 50+ year relationship,” Netflix shared in a statement published on social media. “The support of Netflix, PBS, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting serve as a unique public-private partnership to enable Sesame Street to continue to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.”
At HBO, new Sesame Street episodes would premiere nine months before they would air on PBS. Netflix plans to close the gap with its same-day release schedule beginning with Season 56.
The uncertain fate of the beloved children’s series reached a depressing turning point when a LinkedIn post claimed that Elmo, who is perpetually three years old, lost his job. “Hi LinkedIn, unfortunately Elmo was recently laid off because of the federal budget cuts,” the post read. “Elmo worked at Sesame Street for 45 years. Elmo is sad. Elmo loved his time at Sesame Street.”
On May 1, Trump announced an executive order demanding the end of all federal funding for NPR and PBS, on the grounds that they allegedly “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news,’” according to a White House social media post. The Ready to Learn program, which provided $23 million in funding for educational kids’ shows and games, was among the targeted grant cancellations, per the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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