HBO Shakes up Sesame Street with Firings

Sesame Street is a place for monsters, not people

It’s still a little odd to be talking about Sesame Street as it pertains to HBO, but that’s the current state of things. HBO purchased several seasons worth of Sesame Street, a deal that at the time was said to keep the beloved kids show out of the poor house. Not much has been said about Sesame Street since then, but there’s been a little bit of a shakeup of recently.

As part of HBO’s aggressive transformation of Sesame Street, three cast members have been let go. It’s important to note that the three cast members are of the human persuasion, and not muppet monsters. This is actually a fairly big deal, as the cast members in question — many will know them as Bob, Luis, and Gordan — have been on the show for decades. Apparently modern children don’t care too much for flesh and blood people and would prefer them away from Sesame Street.

More from Show Snob

Paula Kerger, CEO of PBS, said the changes came as a surprise and they were not informed, according to Variety. It’s getting a bit ugly over there, it seems. Sesame Street is no longer a ratings draw, and kids have plenty of other places to go for entertainment. In that context it makes sense that HBO would want to evolve Sesame Street, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it feels right.

Next: Evan Rachel Wood wowed by Westworld.

Still, it’s important to keep in mind that these firings will likely mean very little to kids. It’s only the people who grew up with Sesame Street years ago that feel sour about it. It will be interesting to see if this gives Sesame Street the kickstart that it needs. For the amount of attention this move is getting, it would very much be in HBO’s best interest if it did.

Via: Muppetcast

Home/HBO