Is ‘Sesame Street’ Leaving Max? HBO Opts Out of Renewal for New Episodes

The residents of the most beloved street are facing eviction and looking for a new streaming platform to call home. The famous and dearly beloved kids’ program Sesame Street will no longer be calling Max its home, as Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service is not renewing the show for another season. While this may come as a shock to some viewers, Max is a heavily adult-and-family-leaning streaming platform that intends to stay that way, so the colorful kid’s show doesn’t quite fit into the brand.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Max will not renew Sesame Street for another season past the already produced season 55, but the streaming platform will continue to license and distribute library episodes of the decades-running children’s show through 2027. While the current season, season 55, will be available on Max starting next month, the series needs to find another producer to continue making new seasons. This means that the valuable program is up for grabs by other producers and streaming platforms. A spokesperson for Max released the following statement to THR:

“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.. 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.”

Who will snatch up the hit series? We’ll have to wait and find out, but executives at Sesame Workshop aren’t holding their breath. The company is moving forward with a new and fresh version of the show led by your favorite puppets, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie, for the 56th season.

‘Sesame Street’ Is Getting a Revamp

While Sesame Street could continue its formula of educational skits and heart-warming guest appearances, executives at Sesame Workshop are taking the end of their Max contract as a chance to refresh the series. Next year’s Season 56 will be the first season running, hopefully, under a new deal, and the showrunners are ready to take Elmo and his friends in a more narrative-focused direction.

The puppet show has already taken measures to try and modernize the cast by introducing puppets of more diverse backgrounds, like the first Fillipino-American member of the cast. The reimagined version of the show that started in 1969 will also be paired with a new animated series, Tales From 123. These changes are shaping up to be the biggest the show has undergone since reducing episode length from one hour to 30 minutes in 2016.

With huge streamers like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video having more room for kids’ content, the future is looking bright for the longest-running American children’s show. Let’s hope that Sesame Street can find the right place to call home without having to sacrifice their artistic vision for the fresh future seasons.

Release Date

November 10, 1969