The Sesame Street gang is heading to Netflix with a new season and a new format. Trump’s cuts in funding to PBS, home to Sesame Street for 55 years, threatened the critically acclaimed, incredibly important children’s program. Netflix stepped in and is working with PBS, confirming the series will continue to air for free on PBS stations in the US.
Netflix announced season 56 will premiere later this year and revealed it will be released in three batches. Sal Perez and Kay Wilson Stallings are executive producing, and Emmy, Humanitas, and NAACP Award nominee Halcyon Person will serve as head writer.
Netflix will also stream 90 hours of previous episodes.
The streamer released the following details on what families can expect from the upcoming 56th season of the award-winning series:
- New ways to play along. Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street. Will there be cookie chaos or a sweet treat with every adventure? Abby’s Fairy Garden is home to surprising and delightful magical creatures. What could possibly go wrong when Abby helps care for them?
- To-camera moments. The characters speak directly to the viewers and invite them into the action—capturing emotions and interactions.
- Animation overlays that highlight music, action, humor, and important story moments while adding visual excitement. Visual effects like wand sparkles, bubbles, and confetti will add a touch of anything-can-happen magic to the storytelling.
- One 11-minute story. The longer format provides the opportunity to tell stories with even more character-driven humor and heart.
- A new animated segment, Tales from 123, takes viewers INSIDE the most famous apartment building in the world where they can discover the wacky and whimsical building that Elmo, Cookie Monster, and friends call home.
- The return of fan-favorite episodes of Elmo’s World and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck.
