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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Thursday 14 January 2016
‘Sesame Street’: Now brought to you by the letters HBO
This image released by the Sesame Workshop shows the cast of “Sesame Street.” The popular with actor Alan Cumming Crumb.
children’s show begins its 46th season on HBO on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. as Mucko Polo, a “grouch As always, star turns are
explorer” who leads Elmo part of “Street” life. Besides
(Zach Hyman/Sesame Workshop via AP) and fellow Muppets on “The Good Wife’s” Cum-
escapades using their five ming, bold-face names in-
senses to track down yucky clude Sara Bareilles, Ne-Yo,
things). The other episode’s Tracee Ellis Ross and Gina
theme is “Bedtime,” as Rodriguez.
Elmo and Abby Cadabby But the biggest star, by far,
get help in adopting a remains Elmo, who head-
calm-down bedtime rou- lines most of the segments
tine from a new human and, joined by legions of
character, Nina (played by his fellow Muppets, domi-
the enormously appealing nates to the near-exclusion
Suki Lopez). of any human “Sesame” in-
Expected elements remain habitants. And even mov-
Elmo’s Letter of the Day ing beyond the physicality
(“B’’ is for Bedtime) and the of puppets, the episodes
Count saluting his Number make generous use of digi-
of the Day. tal imagery in a seamless
Cookie Monster has a abstract integration.
brand-new feature, “Smart Bottom line: The easygoing
Cookies,” where he and pace in the neighborhood
a team of crime-fighting of old seems to have fallen
cookie friends thwart the prey to a newly revved-up
efforts of the villainous virtual world. q
FRAZIER MOORE ducers have called “criti-
AP Television Writer cal funding,” will make the
NEW YORK (AP) — With show available on HBO
the extension of “Sesame and related platforms, in-
Street” into a high-price cluding HBO GO and HBO
neighborhood — HBO, on Demand, in both English
where it premieres Satur- and Spanish.
day morning — it has sig- The changes afoot reflect
naled significant urban re- the current flood of chil-
newal. dren’s programming (by
“Sesame Street” grew out contrast, “Sesame” origi-
of the socially progressive nally filled a niche almost
ethos of President Lyndon no other kids’ show even
Johnson’s Great Society recognized), as well as the
of the 1960s. Premiering new ways this umpteenth
on public television as a generation of “Sesame”
breakthrough in children’s fans practices viewing
TV on Nov. 10, 1969, it was habits vastly different from
conceived primarily to help decades ago.
prepare underprivileged “Sesame” will premiere on
preschoolers for their entry HBO on Saturday at 9 a.m.
into the classroom. And this EST with two new half-hours.
“Street” could be visited Episodes will air simultane-
toll-free. ously on HBO Latino, and
Needless to say, the Sixties an hour of repeats will air
are long gone. on HBO Family daily at 8
Now “Sesame Street” is set- a.m.
ting off for its 46th season of This new “Street” represents
making kids “smarter, stron- the “boldest” changes in
ger, kinder” (the show’s the program’s history, says
motto) at its new HBO ad- Sesame Workshop.
dress. Based on the first two epi-
Those 35 new half-hours sodes available for pre-
won’t begin rolling out on view, those changes go
PBS until fall. beyond the added media
In the meantime, the con- outlet and scaled-down
tinuing PBS version of “Ses- length. The show, perhaps
ame” has been retrofitted more beautifully produced
from its traditional hour’s than ever, is now efficient-
length to “best-of” half- ly packaged in a single
hours drawn from the past theme per episode, rather
few seasons (check local than the magazine format
listings for air times). of its past.
The five-season deal with One of this week’s shows
HBO, which provides the addresses “Exploration”
program with what its pro- (including a sequence
