Sesame Street is looking for a new hometown.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery has opted not to renew its Sesame Street output deal with HBO and Max, which has been the home for the beloved children’s show since 2016. They will, however, maintain their partnership with Sesame Workshop, the show’s producers, to continue licensing episodes from the Sesame Street library through 2027.
So, essentially, if there are new episodes of Sesame Street being made, they won’t premiere on HBO or Max — but viewers will still be able to watch certain older episodes on the streaming platform. The decision from Warner Bros. Discovery is attributed to a change in strategy, opting to focus less on kids-centric fare and more on adult and family-friendly content.
“It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic children’s series and we are thrilled to be able to keep some of the library series on Max in the U.S.,” said a spokesperson for Max. “As we’ve launched Max though and based on consumer usage and feedback, we’ve had to prioritize our focus on stories for adults and families, and so new episodes from Sesame Street, at this time, are not as core to our strategy.”
Though many archival episodes will remain on Max, they had already begun the process of removing hundreds of episodes from the Sesame Street library in 2022 as a result of cost-cutting measures from Warner Bros. Discovery. The Hollywood Reporter notes that while other distributors may be interested in producing new episodes, it’s unknown whether they’ll be able to share the vast Sesame Street library (which spans five decades) with Max.
Now that the children’s program is shopping what would be its 56th season around to other streamers, Sesame Workshop has some changes planned. The show will be moving away from a “magazine-style” format in favor of more narrative-driven episodes as it reimagines its next era. Producers also planning on introducing an accompanying animated series called Tales From 123.
These significant changes to the show will arrive as soon as a new deal is in place. Until then, catch up on the most recent episodes of Sesame Street on Max.