Underplayed Gems

Sesame Street (1969)

Sesame Street poster
Directed by
John R. Dilworth, Stan Lathan
Cast
Kevin Clash, Linda Bove, Sonia Manzano, Alan Muraoka, Charlotte Rae, Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, Emilio Delgado
Genre
educational television, educational entertainment, sketch comedy, children's television series, puppet show
Country
United States
Length
56 seasons, 4744 episodes
Rated
TV-Y
Rating
7.1 of 10 from 288 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More series like this

How it feels

This long-running series teaches children letters, numbers, and social skills through a mix of live actors, puppet characters, and short animated clips. It takes place on a friendly city street where human neighbors and Muppets learn together through songs, skits, and everyday situations.

playfulwhimsicalwarmengaginglightheartedupbeatcolorfulgentleeducational

What happens

Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service HBO Max on November 12, 2020, which continued through the service's rebrand as Max in 2023 and as HBO Max in 2025, and most recently Netflix on November 10, 2025. The show's format consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques that have evolved to reflect changes in American culture and audiences' viewing habits. It was the first children's TV show to use educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content, and the first show whose educational effects were formally studied. Its format and content have undergone significant changes over the years to reflect changes to its curriculum. Shortly after its creation, its producers developed what came to be called the CTW model (after the production company's previous name), a system of planning, production, and evaluation based on collaboration between producers, writers, educators, and researchers. The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales, and other media. By 2006, independently produced versions (co-productions) of Sesame Street were broadcast in 20 countries. In 2001, there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street; and by its 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries. Since its debut, Sesame Street has garnered widespread acclaim, and it is considered one of the greatest television series of all time. It was by then the 15th-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three. In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched it as children. As of 2022, it has won 222 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards, more than any other children's show. Sesame Street remains one of the longest-running shows in the world. In 2019, the series was chosen for preservation in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting by the Library of Congress. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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