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Sesame Street

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Sesame Street
Genre
Created by
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?"
Ending theme
  • "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" (instrumental, seasons 1-45)
  • "Smarter, Stronger, Kinder" (season 46-55)
  • Just Imagine (instrumental, series 56)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons56
No. of episodes4735[note 1]
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJoe Stone (1969-1972)
Production locations
Running time
  • 55-60 minutes (1969-2014)
  • 25-27 minutes (2014-present)
Production companySesame Workshop[note 2]
Original release
Network
ReleaseNovember 10, 1969 (1969-11-10) –
present

Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series with many Muppets (puppet characters) and non-Muppet characters (human characters). There are also many animated characters. The show deals with topics like music, alphabet, numbers, and teaching children basics in learning, as well as more serious issues like death, divorce, HIV/AIDS, autism, and foster care. Part of the profits go to an international project for children's schools.

The show has been on TV since November 10, 1969. Jim Henson made the Muppets and a lot of writers and puppeteers worked together to make the show. The Muppets were used afterwards in a different show called The Muppet Show. Sesame Street has been on TV in 120 countries all over the world. More than 4,000 episodes have been made over 50 seasons. One unique feature of the show is that the episode number appears at the start of each episode.

For most of its history, Sesame Street had been shown on PBS in 1970.

In late 2015, in response to "sweeping changes in the media business"[13] and as part of a five-year programming deal, premium television service HBO began airing first-run episodes of Sesame Street. The episodes became available on PBS stations and websites nine months after they aired on HBO.[13] The deal allowed Sesame Workshop to produce more episodes—increasing from 18 to 35 per season—and to create a spinoff series with the Sesame Street Muppets, and a new educational series.[14]

At its 50th anniversary in 2019, Sesame Street had produced over 4,500 episodes, two feature-length movies (Follow That Bird in 1985 and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland in 1999), 35 TV specials, 200 home videos, and 180 albums.[15] Beginning that year, digitized versions of the show's full archive of episodes were donated to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, viewable on site at the library's locations, with five episodes available for viewing online.[16][17] Its YouTube channel has over 24 million subscribers.[18] It was announced in October 2019 that first-run episodes would move to HBO Max beginning with the show's 51st season in 2020.[19] In August 2022, HBO Max removed 200 older episodes of the series from its library after originall offering around 650 episodes.[20] On December 13, 2024, it was announced that Max would not be renewing their contract to make episodes of Sesame Street, meaning 2025 would be the last year for episodes made with Max. Episodes will be in the HBO Max streaming library until 2027. A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop stated: "We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing our new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that 'Sesame Street' reaches as many children as possible for generations to come."[21]

On May 19, 2025, it was announced that Sesame Street would begin to air new episodes on Netflix worldwide and would once again premiere episodes on PBS, with new episodes being released on both platforms on the same day, as well as past seasons. This move would also include acquiring 90 hours of older episodes by Netflix.[22][23][24] Season 56 of Sesame Street premiered on Netflix and PBS on November 10, 2025.[25]

Beginning in January 2026, under a separate agreement, the official YouTube channel began to host the largest collection of older library episodes, including hundreds of classic episodes.[26] Among the episodes of the series uploaded to the Sesame Street YouTube channel as part of the new agreement is the first episode of the series.[27][28][29]

In April 2026, free streaming service Tubi added 250 older episodes to its platform, with the plan to update ten percent of them every quarter.[30][31]

Cast

[change | change source]

Puppeteers

  1. Kevin Clash (Series 16-44 & DVD Version 1-121)
  2. Lisa Buckley (Series 25-31,33,35,44 & DVD Version 36-37,60,69,71,120,123)

Credits

[change | change source]

Executive Producer

  1. David Connell (Series 1-12)
  2. Michael Loman (Series 25-33 & DVD Version 35-72)
  3. Carlo-Lynn Parente (Series 37-50 & DVD Version 85-143)

Co-Executive Producer

  • Joe Stone (Series 4-26 & DVD Version 1-37)
  • Kevin Clash (Series 16-29,41-44 & DVD Version 1-71,73-121)
  • Arlene Sherman (Series 11-29,34 & DVD Version 1-58,62-76)

Co-Executive Producer, Elmo’s World

[change | change source]
  1. Kevin Clash (Series 30-40 & DVD Version 60,72)
  2. Arlene Sherman (Series 30-33)

Co-Producer

[change | change source]
  1. Samuel Y. Gibbon, Jr (Series 1)
  2. Joe Stone (Series 1-3)
  3. Matt Robinson (Series 1)
  4. Carlos Dorta (Series 25-32 & DVD Version 35-58,63-68)
  5. Carlo-Lynn Parente (Series 30-32 & DVD Version 58,62-67)
  6. Mindy Fila (Series 33-40,42-45 & DVD Version 67-126)

Producer

[change | change source]
  1. Carlo-Lynn Parente (Series 33-36 & DVD Version 68-84)
  2. Mindy Fila (Series 40-41)

Home Video Co-Producer

[change | change source]
  1. Jane Lee (DVD Version 93-121)

Supervising Producer

[change | change source]
  1. Lisa Simon (Series 1-45 & DVD Version 1-58,63-126)

Associate Producer

[change | change source]
  1. Tim Carter (Series 30-45 & DVD Version 58,63-125)
  2. Mindy Fila (Series 46-54)

Graphic Design

  • Rickety Boyd (123, Sun, Hopper, Cookie 2, S, W, School & Door 3; Series 39-47)
  • Pete Oritz (Sesame Street Logo, Bird & 123; Series 22-45 & DVD Version 19-126)
  • Michael Lapinski (Sun, Sesame Street Logo & 123; Series 43-50 & DVD Version 120-143)

Graphic Artist

Casting Director

  • Penny Wilson (DVD Version 37)

Graphic Artist

  • Wilber Ball (7, C, E, D, M, W, Z, Flying Mail, Hopper, 123 & D; Series 37-39)
  • Margaret Ryan (Monkey, 4, 5, Shade 2, 7, 3, Hopper, Sun & 123; Series 25-39)

Scene Artists

  • Margaret Ryan (Series 40-45)

Scene Artists, Meal On No Meal

  • Wilber Ball (Series 38)
  • Margaret Ryan (Series 38)

Home Video Graphic Design

  • Brainforest (Sesame, The En & Home DVD Version 35-61)
  • Jackie Ross (Sesame Street Logo; DVD Version 72-76)
  • Rickey Boyd (Sesame Street Logo; DVD Version 77,93-121)

Animation Director, Elmo’s World

  • Jane Aaron (W, O, R, L, D, Drawer 2 & Door 2; Series 30-31)
  • Broadway Video (W, O, R, Disco & Rhino; Series 30-40 & Elmo Visits The Doctor)
  • Steve Segal (W, O, R, D, Door 2, TV Logo & Shade 2; Series 38)

Animation Director, Blue’s Clues Pilot

  • Dave Palmer (Series 27 & DVD Version 39)
  • Steve Segal (Series 27 & DVD Version 39)

Animation Director, Dora The Explorer Pilot

  • Steve Segal (Dora, Backpack, Map, Sun & Water 2; Series 30)

Animation Director, Opening & Segment

  • Steve Segal (Sesame Street Logo, 7, A, 5, Bird, 2, 1, E & TV Logo; Series 25-33)
  • Jane Aaron (CTW, Sesame Street Logo, Train & Series 25-29)

Animation Editor, Opening & Segment

  • Todd Parr (Sun, Cloud 2, Tower 2, School, Star 2, Bert & W; Series 40-42)

Home Video Editor

[change | change source]
  1. Ralph Kelsey (Elmo Visits The Doctor)

Home Video Animation Director, Elmo’s World

  • POP Sound (E, Drawer & TV; The Adventure Of Elmo In Groundland: Sing & Along)
  • Broadway Sound (Door & Doctor 2; Elmo Visits The Doctor)

Executive Producer For Sony Wonder

  • Karin Shiel (DVD Version 38-92)
  • Peter Barg (DVD Version 90-92)

Full Episodes

[change | change source]
  • Series 40: Sliding, Splattering Fun
Episode Number Title Original Air Date (TV) Original Air Date (Filmed) Notes Supporting Characters Gunged
3786 Episode 3786 16 November 1998
  • First Appearance Of Alan
  • First Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
    Door
    Dorothy
    Shade
    Mr. Noodle
    Drawer
    TV
    Beachball
    Football
3787 Episode 3787 17 November 1998 Two Appearance Of Beachball & Football
3788 Episode 3788 18 November 1998 Three Appearance Of Beachball & Football
3824 Episode 3824 February 18 1999 First Appearance Of Accordion
3831 Episode 3831 22 March 1999 First Appearance Of Glass Of Water
3858 Episode 3858 12 January 2000 First Appearance of The Top Banana
3870 Episode 3870 28 January 2000 First Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
Telephone
3983 Episode 3983 6 February 2002 First Appearance Of Bed & Pillows
3984 Episode 3984 7 February 2002 First Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
Sunny Boy
Tornado
3986 Episode 3986 11 February 2002 The Second Appearance Of Bed & Pillows
3998 Episode 3998 27 February 2002 Two Appearance Of The Top Banana The Top Banana
4025 Episode 4025 5 April 2002 Final Appearance Of The Top Banana The Top Banana The Top Banana
4046 Episode 4046 28 April 2003 Final Appearance Of Accordion Accordion Alan
4057 The Street We Live On 4 April 2004 3 October 2003
15 November 2003		 First Appearance Of Segment
Maria (Animated)
Gordon (Animated)
4058 Episode 4058 6 April 2004 31 October 2003
  • The Four Appearance Of Bubble Martin
 Bubble Martin
4059 Episode 4059 7 April 2004 Alan Shade
Gordon
4060 Episode 4060 8 April 2004 Shade
Gordon
4077 Episode 4077 3 May 2004 8 & 12 December 2002
4082 Series 35 Finale 11 May 2004 The Lecture Lady
4093 Episode 4093 5 September 2005 First Appearance Of School School
4109 Episode 4109 14 August 2006 1-2 November 2005 The First Appearance Of Abby Cadabby
4110 15:8:2006 15 August 2006 9 December 2005 Second Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
School		 School
4111 Episode 4111 16 August 2006 11 November 2005 Final Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
Telephone		 Cookie
A Baby
Telephone		 Cookie
4113 18:8:2006 18 August 2006
4117 Episode 4117 30 August 2006
4120 Episode 4120 6 September 2006 The Lecture Lady
4130 Episode 4130 6 November 2006
4134 Episode 4134 10 November 2006 7 December 2005 A Baby
4135 Series 38 Premiere
4136 14:8:2007 14 August 2007 4 December 2006
4137 15:8:2007
4138 16:8:2007 16 August 2007 30 November 2006
23 March 2007		 Final Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
School		 School
Howie Eatswell
A Baby		 Cookie
School
4187 Series 40 Premiere 10 November 2009 2-3 February 2009
  • First Episode Of 2009 Sesame Street Logo
  • First Appearance Of New Theme Song
    Bird 6
  • First Appearance Of New Segment
    Abby (Animated)
    Blogg
    Niblet
    Mrs Sparkenose
    Gonnigan
    Spot
  • Bird 3
  • Bird 4
  • Bird 6
  • Bird 5
  • Leela
  • Ovejita
  • A Baby
  • Bird 3
  • Gonnigan
  • Blogg
  • Niblet
  • Bert (Animated)
  • Bird 4 (Animated)
  • Zoe
  • Bird 4
4188 Episode 4188 11 November 2009
  • First Appearance Of Abby’s Flying Fariy School
    Whale
  • Three Appearance Of Old MacDonald
  • Old MacDonald
  • Bird 4
  • Bird 3
  • Ovejita
4189 Episode 4189 12 November 2009 4 February 2009 The Final Appearance Of Book
The First Appearance Of Abby’s Flying Fariy School
Gene The Genie
  • Bird 6
  • Bird 3
  • Bird 4
4190 Episode 4190 13 November 2009 12 February 2009
  • Bird 3
  • Bird 4
  • Bird 5
  • Bird 6
  • Leela
  • Ovejita
4191 Episode 4191 16 November 2009 1 December 2008 Final Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
Tornado
Sunny Boy
4192 Episode 4142 17 November 2009 2 February 2009
  • Final Appearance Of Elmo’s World Segment
    Daisy
  • Two Appearance Of Abby’s Flying Fariy School
    Whale
 Bird 3
Leela
4143 Episode 4143 18 November 2009 3 February 2009
  • Two Appearance Of Abby’s Flying Fariy School
    Gene The Genie
  • Four Appearance Of Bed & Pillows
  • Bird 3
  • Bed & Pillows
4144 Episode 4144 19 November 2009 11 February 2009
13 March 2009		 Final Appearance Of Birthday Cake
  • Birthday Cake
  • Bird 2
  • Bird 4
  • Ovejita
4195 Episode 4195 20 November 2009 19 February 2009 Bird 3
4196 Episode 4196 24 November 2009 10 February 2009 Bird 3
4197 Episode 4197 27 November 2009 17-18 December 2009 Bird 3 Bird 3
4198 Episode 4198 30 November 2009 9 December 2008
13 March 2009		 Bird 3 Bird 3
4199 Episode 4199 2 December 2009 4 February 2009
  • The Second Appearance Of I
  • The Final Appearance Of W, B &
  • Bird 3
  • Leela
  • W
  • B
  • I
4200 Episode 4200 11 December 2009 13 February 2009 Bird 3
Leela
4201 22:12:2009 22 December 2009 31 January 2009 Bird 3
Leela
4202 24:12:2009 24 December 2008 12 March 2009 Bird 3
4203 Episode 4203 28 December 2009 3 & 18 February 2009
  • Bird 4
  • Bird 2
  • Bird 6
  • Slimey
  • Leela
 Slimey
4204 Episode 4204 30 December 2009 23 February 2009 Chris
—
The Final Slimed For 2012-13 Season Of Sesame Street

DVD Release

[change | change source]
  • Elmo’s World: Dancing, Book & Music (29 January 2000)

The Muppets

[change | change source]
  • Big Bird is an 8-foot-tall yellow dino-bird. He was the first Muppet to appear on Sesame Street. His best friend is Snuffy, a reddish-brown Snuffleupagus. He was assumed to be imaginary by the rest of the cast until the creators revealed him due to hearing about reports of sexual abuse cases of children. He was performed by Caroll Spinney (1969–2018) and Matt Vogel (1997–present).
  • Oscar the Grouch is a green grouch who lives in a garbage can with his pet worm Slimey and his pet elephant Fluffy. He is often in a bad mood and he loves everything that other people hate: mud, dirt, etc. He has a girlfriend named Grundgetta. He was performed by Caroll Spinney (1969–2018) and Eric Jacobson (2015–present).
  • Bert and Ernie are two roommates. Ernie is more active and always ready to play a game or make a mess. Bert is an often boring grouch who likes to read; he likes things to be clean, neat and loves pigeons.
  • Zoe is a female yellow-orange monster. She has a rock named Rocco and loves ballet. She is also Elmo's best friend.
  • Rosita is a bilingual turquoise female Monster from Mexico who speaks both English and Spanish. She also plays the guitar. She is performed by Carmen Osbahr.
  • Count von Count (The Count) is a number-counting lavender vampire from Transylvania.
  • Prairie Dawn is a driven young girl who loves to write and direct pageants featuring her friends.
  • Elmo is a small red monster who has a falsetto voice and lives with his goldfish named Dorothy. He speaks in third person and got his own Sesame Street segment, Elmo's World in 1998.

Other Muppets for Sesame Street include a girl fairy named Abby Cadabby, Murray, his lamb named Ovejita, Juila, and the Two-Headed Monster. Not only Muppets play in the show but also a diverse cast of human characters who live with the Muppets.

[change | change source]

Notes

[change | change source]
  1. ↑ Season 45 (2013–2014) was the first time episodes were numbered in a seasonal order rather than the numerical and chronological fashion used since the show premiered. For example, episode 4401 means "the first episode of the 44th season", not "the 4401st episode" (it is in fact the 4328th episode).
  2. ↑ Known as Children's Television Workshop until 2000.

References

[change | change source]
  1. ↑ "Sesame Street season 1 End Credits (1969-70)". YouTube. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Sesame Street season 3 End Credits (1971-72)". YouTube. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Sesame Street season 4 End Credits (1972-73)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Sesame Street season 9 end credits (1977-78)". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Sesame Street season 10 end credits (1978-79)". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Sesame Street season 12 end credits (1980-81)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Sesame Street season 24 (#3010) closing & funding credits (1992) ["Dancing City" debut]". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Sesame Street - Season 25 End Credits (1993-1994)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Elmo Writes a Story - Sesame Street Full Episode (credits start at 55:37)". YouTube. Sesame Street. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sesame Street Season 34 credits & fundings (version #1)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Elmo and Zoe Play the Healthy Food Game - Sesame Street Full Episodes (credits start at 52:50)". YouTube. Sesame Street. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ "PBS Kids Program Break (2006 WFWA-TV)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Pallotta, Frank; Stelter, Brian (August 13, 2015). "'Sesame Street' is heading to HBO". CNN.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ Steel, Emily (August 13, 2015). "'Sesame Street' to Air First on HBO for Next 5 Seasons". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  15. ↑ Wallace, Debra (February 6, 2019). "Big Bird Has 4,000 Feathers: 21 Fun Facts About Sesame Street That Will Blow Your Mind". Parade. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  16. ↑ "American Archive of Public Broadcasting to Preserve 50 Years of Sesame Street for Posterity". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Sesame Street". americanarchive.org. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  18. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa (February 6, 2019). "50 Years of Sunny Days on 'Sesame Street': Behind the Scenes of TV's Most Influential Show Ever". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  19. ↑ Alexander, Julia (October 3, 2019). "HBO Max locks down exclusive access to new Sesame Street episodes". The Verge. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  20. ↑ Spangler, Todd (August 19, 2022). "HBO Max Removes About 200 'Sesame Street' Episodes". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  21. ↑ Shanfeld, Ethan (December 13, 2024). "'Sesame Street' for Sale: Max Not Renewing Deal for New Episodes". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  22. ↑ Weprin, Alex (May 19, 2025). "'Sesame Street' Saved, Inks New Streaming Deal With Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  23. ↑ "PBS KIDS Announces New SESAME STREET Deal". About PBS - Main. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Sesame Street Is Coming to Netflix". Sesame Workshop. May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  25. ↑ Weprin, Alex (August 26, 2025). "Netflix Sets Premiere Dates for 'Sesame Street,' New Season of 'Ms. Rachel'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  26. ↑ Weprin, Alex (September 4, 2025). "Hundreds of Classic 'Sesame Street' Episodes to Hit YouTube With Sesame Workshop Deal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  27. ↑ Kurtz, Katie (January 15, 2026). "Sesame Street: Now streaming on YouTube and YouTube Kids". YouTube Official Blog. YouTube.
  28. ↑ "Sesame Street". YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Sesame Street Classics". YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Sesame Street Arrives on TUBI with 250 Nostalgic Episodes". Sesame Workshop. March 31, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Sesame Street". Tubi. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

Other websites

[change | change source]
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sesame_Street&oldid=10947280"