HBO (and later Max) has been the primary home to Sesame Street since 2016. And now that relationship is coming to an end as Warner Bros has decided not to renew their contracts with the series.
As of right now, Sesame Street doesn’t have a network home, and it’s currently being shopped around to streamers such as Netflix, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
While new episodes will not be seen on HBO or Max, Warner Bros has decided to continue investing in the classic episodes, with many of them remaining on the streamer through 2027.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the reason being given is that Max is shifting priorities away from all-ages programming and more into adult-facing content.
Of course, this news is extremely worrisome for our friends at Sesame Workshop. With no distributor, the future of the series is in question. Although we hope one of the big streaming networks steps up to the plate to invest in the longest-running, most prominent children’s series of all time, new episodes (if filmed at all) may end up on YouTube or PBS, neither of which would guarantee a reliable return to keep the lights on and pay the cookie bills.
Many fans are already begging for Sesame Street to return to PBS, but I’d like to remind those fans that the incoming political regime has been vocal about their distaste for public broadcasting, which puts PBS’s very existence in question. Naturally, this would not be the safest place for Sesame Street to call home at this time.
Stay tuned for more news about the future of Sesame Street, and keep your fingers and toes and feathers crossed that the show will find a new distributor soon.
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by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
