Sesame Street is switching to more “sophisticated” storylines

Everyone’s earliest childhood memories are of watching the educative and fun lessons by Elmo, Big Bird, and more on Sesame Street. But it seems the beloved children’s series is getting a more mature revamp for its new season.

Since it first premiered in 1969, Sesame Street has used its puppet characters to teach and entertainment generations of kids along with an array of celebrity guest stars.

Set in the city streets, the characters teach adult and child viewers the values of friendship, manners, and the real world — but in a more approachable kid-friendly way.

Bu,t times have changed and today’s kids are a bit more toughened out and unsensitized to the reality of the world. For the 56th season of Sesame Street, the PBS and HBO Max series will make a few big tweaks to stay relevant.

Sesame Street is changing its format and style

Steve Youngwood, the CEO of Sesame Workshop, has revealed Sesame Street will no longer have its “magazine” format. They will give child audiences stories with more of an “emotional stake.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Youngwood explains that with evolution comes a few changes and, since the 56th Season set to premiere in 2025, this is the right time to do it. The new season will focus on more “sophisticated” and “dynamic” storylines for its audience.

“Kids love a little bit of peril, they love having emotional stakes, and in nine minutes, it’s kind of hard to really dive into those areas really effectively. And so, by opening up these segments and making them longer, it’s going to give us an opportunity to really serve up what we know from research, what we know from across the industry, what we know from our curriculum and education experts, what we know kids are looking for,” said Youngwood.

The only way to dive into the new storylines is by changing Sesame Street’s overall format. Audiences will instead get two 11-minute storyline segments with an animated series, Tales From 123, in between. Both segments will come together for a teachable story.

Each episode will also get a new song with Elmo addressing the audience. Takes From 123 will give new and old fans a chance to explore the famed apartment building and meet all the characters. Youngwood wants Sesame Street to stay “relevant” to viewers while HBO Max has removed many of its episodes.

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