November 2, 2025, 12:00 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Some so-called children’s programs are still enjoyable to watch as an adult. This includes a cult series that first aired in Germany in the 1970s. Netflix is now making some of its original episodes available for streaming, as well as new seasons that are still in production. All the details on this.
We’re talking about the famous “Sesame Street,” which is set to “reach more children in more places than ever before.” This comes from a recent statement by the educational organization and production company Sesame Workshop. The announcement concerns what they describe as a “unique public-private partnership” with Netflix, which aims to significantly increase the reach and accessibility of “Sesame Street.”
“Sesame Street” Comes to Netflix
Rumors had been circulating for some time, and now it’s official: Netflix is producing new episodes of “Sesame Street” and will release them on its platform at the end of 2025. Additionally, the service plans to air selected classic episodes. As reported by CNN, Netflix has secured the rights to about 90 hours of archival material.
This news is likely to evoke nostalgia in many viewers. After all, “Sesame Street” has a long history on TV. In Germany, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, and others have been on screens since the 1970s. In the U.S., “Sesame Street” first aired in 1969 and has been running almost continuously since then. Alongside the show, its creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett founded Sesame Workshop as a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and producing educational children’s programs, a mission it continues to uphold today.
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The Political Background of the Partnership: Funding Under Pressure
Until 2016, the U.S. version of “Sesame Street” was broadcast by the public broadcaster PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Funding was partially provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a government-supported organization promoting public media.
During Donald Trump’s first term, the CPB came under significant pressure. The president proposed drastic cuts or the complete elimination of funding in several budget drafts starting in 2017. Congress ultimately did not fully implement these cuts. However, the mere possibility prompted Sesame Workshop to move to the pay channel HBO in 2016, which promised more planning security. HBO initially aired new “Sesame Street” episodes exclusively on its HBO Max platform, with PBS allowed to show them on free TV at a later date. As reported by CNN, this exclusive arrangement expired in 2025 and was not renewed by Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO. This made the new partnership with Netflix crucial for the continuation of “Sesame Street.”
What Changes for “Sesame Street” with the Netflix Deal
The Netflix deal already brings practical changes. While under HBO, new episodes were only available on PBS later, PBS will now be able to air them on the same day they appear on Netflix. So, in the U.S., there’s no longer a need for a Netflix subscription to see the latest content—the series remains publicly accessible.
Additionally, the new 56th season will feature a revamped storytelling format, as predicted by the U.S. magazine “Mental Floss” back in 2023. According to this, Sesame Workshop had already planned for new seasons from 2025 to have a more emotional, deeper, yet child-friendly structure that gives individual characters more room to develop. The core of the new concept is dividing each episode into two storylines: an A-Story and a B-Story. The A-Story forms the main plot—for example, around solving a specific problem. The B-Story revisits the theme through humorous side plots or additional perspectives. Both storylines are interconnected and come together at the end of the episode to clearly and child-appropriately convey an educational goal.