Sesame Street Moves to Netflix After HBO Max Exit, but Will Be 'Reimagined' With Some Big Changes

Aaron Fonseca
May 19
2 min read

Big Bird and pals may have lost their home at HBO Max, but Netflix has come in for the save. Following the news that Sesame Street was leaving HBO Max, it's now been announced that the show will move over to Netflix with a brand new season in development.

The announcement was made by Netflix on Monday with a video posted on social media. In the video, Cookie Monster encounters the red N from the Netflix logo, which he seemingly mistakes for a cookie. The streamer also confirmed that past seasons of the show will also be coming to the platform later this year in addition to all-new episodes of the children's educational series.

While the show is getting its 56th season on Netflix, the streamer has described the new episodes as an "all-new, reimagined" presentation of the show. It will feature "fresh format changes," though fan-favorite segments, including Elmo's World and Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck, will return. Netflix teases to expect "new ways to play along as Cookie Monster opens his very own Cookie Cart on Sesame Street, and explore Abby’s Fairy Garden, a home to surprising and delightful magical creatures."

Netflix's Sesame Street Comes With Some Changes

New episodes will also now center on one 11-minute story, which allows for "even more character-driven humor and heart." There will be "to-camera moments" with characters speaking directly to the viewers, encouraging more interactions. Animation overlays and new visual effects will also be added as a way of highlighting important moments. Also announced is a new animated segment, Tales from 123, which will take 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."

Halcyon Person has become the new head writer for Sesame Street. She previously worked as head writer and co-executive producer of Karma's World and Dee & Friends in Oz on Netflix.

It won't be just Netflix subscribers who can watch the show. The new episodes of Sesame Street will be made available on the same day in the U.S. on PBS stations and PBS KIDS digital platforms. This will allow Sesame Street to be made available throughout the country for free. However, Netflix has the exclusive worldwide premiere rights. Additionally, Netflix will develop video games for both Sesame Street and Sesame Street Mecha Builders. The plan is for more games for kids to come soon for subscribers.