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Netflix learns about cooperation via a new Sesame Street sharing deal with PBS
Netflix saves Sesame Street, opens the door to Black Mirror, Squid Game crossovers while surprisingly sharing the iconic children's show with PBS. (One of these things is not like the other, because it's a joke.)
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We rarely see streaming services share. In fact, it is largely against their business plan. Netflix has made a fortune by being the only place you can watch shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Black Mirror so you’d expect them to follow suit when they acquired a huge franchise like Sesame Street. However, it looks like Netflix actually paid attention to Sesame Street growing up because they’ll be sharing the show with PBS going forward.
After the future of the iconic children’s show seemed up in the air after they were dropped by their previous distributor HBO last year, Netflix has stepped in to order new episodes. Not only that, but they’re doing right by the Sesame Street ethos by actively sharing new episodes with PBS, which has broadcast the series for decades. According to the new deal, new episodes of Sesame Street’s upcoming season will air on Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app on the same day.
Listen, I’m not in the habit of praising our corporate overlords, but this is a shockingly good thing that Netflix is doing. Not only do they get one of the most famous brands on their platform, but they’re making sure that kids, especially kids from low-income backgrounds who have always benefitted the most from Sesame Street, still get free access to the show. Somewhere along the way, someone at Netflix took a lesson from Big Bird, Elmo, and the rest of the crew and learned how to share and the world is actually better for it.
Plus there is now every possibility that we're going to see crossovers with shows like Black Mirror and Squid Game. While we're not sure Elmo would cope with the existential horrors of our world, we do hope to see a crossover where Wednesday Addams and Snuffleupagus have a conversation where she tells the giant pseudo-imaginary elephant that it is okay to be sad sometimes.
No release date for Sesame Street season 56 (yes, 56) has been confirmed. The new episodes will feature a change to their structure by focusing on one 11-minute story rather than a collection of segments when they air on Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app on the same day.
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