Netflix Saves ‘Sesame Street’ After WBD Boss David Zaslav Pulled The Plug On Financing New Episodes Of The Landmark PBS Series

Sesame Street is entering a new era. Not only is the show adopting a new format, but the children’s classic will now begin streaming on Netflix after Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to renew its deal with Sesame Workshop late last year.

Under this new deal, all new episodes of Sesame Street will stream worldwide on Netflix the same day they air on PBS stations and PBS Kids digital platforms in the United States. Over 90 hours of previous episodes will also be available to stream later this year. Sesame Workshop said Netflix’s support will help them “continue to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.”

Netflix put their own creative flair on the news by sharing a video of Cookie Monster eating Netflix’s logo.

The streaming giant is swooping in to save the classic children’s series after Warner Bros. Discovery opted out of renewing the show’s output deal in late 2024 to focus on more adult and family-oriented programming for HBO and HBO 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,” a spokesperson for HBO Max said at the time.

HBO Max will continue licensing and streaming previous episodes from the Sesame Street library through 2027, including the recent season.

However, the new episodes will feature a “reimagined” version of the show’s format. Netflix announced the new season will still include classic segments such as  “Elmo’s World” and “Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck,” but each episode will take a more narrative approach and center around one 11-minute story.

Per Entertainment Weekly, new episodes will also include an animated segment “Tales from 123,” which will bring viewers into the Sesame Street building where all the beloved characters live.

Sesame Street will begin streaming on Netflix worldwide later this year.