There are still sunny days ahead for Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby, who have all survived Trump’s recent assassination attempt, thanks to the rescue efforts of Netflix.
The streamer just announced that beloved children’s program Sesame Street will move to its service, after the Trump administration cut funding for its decades-long home, PBS.
The news comes following a tough few months for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, which lost its contract with HBO after the network decided to shift away from children’s programming.
Then came another financial blow, from the current administration, after President Donald Trump cut federal funding to PBS, the free public broadcasting service that’s been airing Sesame Street for more than 50 years.
These issues caused what executives described as a “perfect storm” of problems for the program.
Under the new Netflix agreement, new episodes will premiere on Netflix and PBS on the same day, ensuring the educational program stays accessible for millions of children across the country. That in itself is a gesture of goodwill between the streamer and the public broadcaster that could be construed as a political gesture amid Trump’s cuts.
“This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love,” Sesame Workshop CEO Sherri Westin said in a statement.
The Netflix deal will begin with the 56th season of Sesame Street later this year and will feature new formatting changes, dropping the magazine-style format in favor of 11-minute story sequences. The show will also take a more character-driven focus, as is typical of other popular children’s shows like Bluey.
As soon as the news dropped about Sesame Street finding a new home, people took to social media to celebrate, expressing their relief that the program can continue despite Trump’s funding cuts.
Thanks to the new deal, Elmo and his friends will get continue to do what they’ve always done best: teach kids how to read and count, all while making sure they feel like they will always have a friend to guide them in this chaotic world.
