TV talk show hosts get a brand new frenemy: Sesame Street's Elmo
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He may be the most popular talk show host since Oprah Winfrey ended her run on daytime television.
Elmo, the Sesame Street character who appeared as a guest on "The View," "Martha Stewart Living" and NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell me," is getting a program all to himself.
The beloved character, forever just a little older than age 3, joins the ranks of talk legends amid a massive expansion of the "Sesame Street" television series.
With Thursday’s announcement that Sesame Street is moving to the HBO Max streaming service, producers also highlighted a variety of new programming for the subscription platform controlled by Warner Media Entertainment, Elmo's show among them.
No need for the watchers who love “Sesame Street” on PBS -- which has aired the program since its inception -- to worry, however. “Sesame Street” will continue to broadcast on public television, though episodes will air several months after the original programming goes live on HBO MAX.
The HBO Max deal includes special programming and, perhaps most importantly, the 50-season library of Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the rest of the show’s beloved characters.
According to Sesame Workshop, which produces “Sesame Street,” the Elmo talk show will be “a family-centric live-action take on a late-night talk show, 'The Not Too Late Show with Elmo' -- featuring Sesame Street’s celebrity friends.”
The “Sesame Street” franchise could be a powerful draw to the HBO MAX platform.
“Sesame Street is, and always has been, the gold standard for children’s programming, and we’re thrilled that Sesame Workshop chose HBO Max as its new partner,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. “This brand is synonymous with quality and integrity, not to mention that nothing is more important than educating young new minds. This landmark deal perfectly illustrates the type of quality programming HBO Max will offer across every demographic.”
The deal begins in the spring of 2020 and is good for five seasons of new “Sesame Street” creation. In 2015, HBO began airing first-run “Sesame Street” content on its children’s network.