AMC’s drama series Dark Winds won multiple National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Vision Awards to lead all shows, the diversity organization announced Tuesday morning.  

The freshman series won two NAMIC Vision Awards -- which celebrate original, multiplatform television programming that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the viewing audience -- including best drama series, beating out strong competition from Fox’s 9-1-1, ABC's Grey’s Anatomy and Women of the Movement, and Paramount Plus’s The Good Fight.

Dark Winds star Zahn McClarnon also won a Vision Award for best performance in a drama series, besting Cliff “Method Man” Smith (Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost); Courtney B. Vance (AMC’s 61st Street), Patina Miller (Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kana) and Viola Davis (Showtime’s The First Lady).

Also: Zahn McClarnon Hopes ‘Dark Winds’ Series Opens Eyes to Native American Actors, Stories: Multicultural Perspectives

CBS’ veteran series The Neighborhood took home the award for best comedy, topping ABC’s Abbott Elementary, black-ish and The Wonder Years, as well as Disney Plus’s Ms. Marvel. 

Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani won the best performance in a comedy award for her starring role in the Disney Plus series, beating out Frankie Quiñones (Hulu’s This Fool) Omari Hardwick (Paramount Plus’ Fantasy Football) Raven-Symoné (Disney Channel’s Raven’s Home) and Tichina Arnold (CBS’s The Neighborhood) for the honor.

HBO Max’s Pause with Sam Jay was the only repeat winner, taking honors in the Variety/Talk Show category for the second straight year. 

“We are honored to recognize the outstanding achievements of the 2023 Vision Award recipients, whose innovative programming has not only captivated audiences but also reflects our society's diverse voices and perspectives,” NAMIC president and CEO A. Shuanise Washington said in a statement. “The Vision Awards celebrate excellence in programming that pushes the boundaries of creativity, storytelling, and inclusivity. The work celebrated this year reminds us of the power of diverse representation and the importance of telling authentic stories that resonate with viewers from all walks of life.” 

The complete list of the 2023 NAMIC Vision Awards appears below: 

Animation 

More Than I Want to Remember – MTV Entertainment Studios 

Best Performance – Comedy

Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) – Disney Plus 

Best Performance – Drama 

Zahn McClarnon: (Dark Winds) – AMC 

Children’s

Sesame Street – Sesame Workshop 

Comedy 

Ms. Marvel – Disney Plus

Digital Media – Short Form 

Historian’s Take: What is #LandBack? Inside New Native American TV Shows – PBS 

Documentary 

Fannie Lou Hamer’s America: An America ReFramed Special – American Documentary, Inc. 

Drama

Dark Winds – AMC 

Lifestyle 

Delicious Miss Brown – Food Network 

News/Informational 

The Color of Care – Smithsonian Channel 

Original Movie or Special 

REVOLT x Michelle Obama: The Cross-Generational Conversation – REVOLT 

Reality 

Why Not Us: Southern Dance – ESPN Plus

Reality – Social Issues 

The Hair Tales – Onyx Collective/OWN/Hulu 

Sports 

After Jackie – History Channel 

Variety/Talk Show 

PAUSE with Sam Jay – HBO Max 

It will be “Sesame Street Night” when The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesday, March 15. Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, The Count and Abby Cadabby are featured in the episode, singing, performing and cracking jokes. 

Jennifer Nettles, country star and host of Farmer Wants a Wife on Fox, joins the panelists as three celebs perform incognito. Dating show Farmer Wants a Wife debuted March 8. 

Nick Cannon hosts The Masked Singer and the regular panelists are Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke. Two singers will be unmasked at the end. 

Cannon said “Sesame Street Night” is “like a dream come true for me.”

It is season nine of The Masked Singer. Cannon executive produces with Moira Ross, James Breen and Craig Plestis. Ross is the showrunner. ■

Programming from streaming services were the big winners at the inaugural Children's & Family Emmy Awards event in Los Angeles over this past weekend, according to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).

Among the major awards, Netflix's The Baby-Sitter's Club won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's or Family Viewing Series, while its series Hearstopper won for Outstanding Young Teen Series. 

HBO Max’s Sesame Street won the Emmy for Outstanding Preschool Series and Disney Plus’ Sneakerella won in the category of Outstanding Fiction Special. Apple TV Plus' Who Are You, Charlie Brown? took home the statuette for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program.

In addition, actor, director and educator LeVar Burton was the recipient of the first annual Children's & Family Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards were the first standalone expansion of the Emmy Award competition in 43 years, said the organization, which streamed both Saturday and Sunday’s awards ceremonies.

"This weekend's ceremonies herald an exciting milestone in our Emmy award history," NATAS President and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement.

A partial list of the Children's & Family Emmy Awards winners appear below: 

OUTSTANDING PRESCHOOL SERIES

Sesame Street (HBO Max)

OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S OR FAMILY VIEWING SERIES

The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING YOUNG TEEN SERIES

Heartstopper (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING FICTION SPECIAL

Sneakerella (Disney Plus)

OUTSTANDING NON-FICTION PROGRAM

Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (Apple TV Plus) 

OUTSTANDING PRESCHOOL ANIMATED SERIES

Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED SERIES

City of Ghosts (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A PRESCHOOL, CHILDREN’S OR YOUNG TEEN PROGRAM

Kit Connor, Heartstopper (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A PRESCHOOL, CHILDREN’S OR YOUNG TEEN PROGRAM

Nonso Anozie, Sweet Tooth (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER PERFORMER IN A PRESCHOOL, CHILDREN’S OR YOUNG TEEN PROGRAM

Quinn Copeland, Punky Brewster (Peacock)

OUTSTANDING GUEST PERFORMANCE IN PRESCHOOL, CHILDREN’S OR YOUNG TEEN PROGRAM

Olivia Colman, Heartstopper (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE IN A PRESCHOOL ANIMATED PROGRAM

Daniel Ross, Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas (Disney Junior) 

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE IN AN ANIMATED PROGRAM

Eric Bauza, Looney Tunes Cartoons (HBO/HBO Max) 

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER VOICE PERFORMER IN AN ANIMATED OR PRESCHOOL ANIMATED PROGRAM

Andy Walken, Centaurworld (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIVE ACTION PRESCHOOL OR CHILDREN’S PROGRAM 

The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A YOUNG TEEN PROGRAM

Heartstopper (Netflix) 

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR AN ANIMATED PROGRAM

Maya and the Three (Netflix) 

Bob McGrath, who played Bob Johnson on Sesame Street, died December 4. He was 90. He was on Sesame from the beginning, and departed in 2017. 

His family shared on Facebook, “The McGrath family has some sad news to share. Our father Bob McGrath, passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family.”

McGrath had a musical background, and his songs on Sesame include “People in Your Neighborhood.”

Sesame Workshop said in a statement, “Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of Bob McGrath, a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years. A founding cast member, Bob embodied the melodies of Sesame Street like no one else, and his performances brought joy and wonder to generations of children around the world, whether teaching them the ABCs, the people in their neighborhood, or the simple joy of feeling music in their hearts.

“A revered performer worldwide, Bob’s rich tenor filled airwaves and concert halls from Las Vegas to Saskatchewan to Tokyo many times over. We will be forever grateful for his many years of passionate creative contributions to Sesame Street and honored that he shared so much of his life with us.” ■

Guests in season 53 of Sesame Street include Samuel L. Jackson, Ava Duvernay and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. The season begins on HBO Max’s Cartoonito Nov. 3, with new episodes dropping on Thursdays. There are 35 episodes. 

The season streams on PBS Kids in fall 2023. 

Mickey Guyton is a guest in the season premiere and Amber Ruffin appears in the Nov. 3 and March 9 episodes. Zazie Beetz and Dr. Jill Biden turn up Dec. 1. Samuel L. Jackson appears Dec. 15, Brett Goldstein Jan. 12, Ava Duvernay Feb. 16 and Haim May 11. 

Sal Perez is the executive producer. “As with every new season, our goal is to deepen connections with families by creating unique and dynamic ways for them to engage with Sesame Street,” Perez said. “Season 53 continues our tradition of meeting the needs of kids today with authentic, meaningful content while keeping them learning, laughing and singing along. This season, both beloved and new friends will model the power of relationships and show the many ways we are all connected and belong in our families and communities.”

The Nov. 3 premiere has the title ”Community Mural,“ and sees the Muppets and some humans paint a mural dedicated to all the people in their neighborhood. 

“Sesame Street has always given kids a mirror to themselves and a window to each other, and this season strengthens that tradition. We could not be more grateful to be their partner in bringing these new stories to Cartoonito,” Amy Friedman, head of kids & family programming, Warner Bros. Discovery, said. “Perfectly aligned with our Humancentric Learning framework, the new season gives preschoolers a sense of connection across differences — probably the most important skill modern kids need to thrive.” ■

Nearly 200 episodes of the classic kids series Sesame Street are being pulled off HBO Max, as newly merged parent company Warner Bros. Discovery continues to purge the premium programming channel to cut $3 billion in expenses. 

According to Variety, the number of Sesame Street episodes listed on HBO Max was reduced from 650 to 456 last week. 

HBO Max reps said the premium channel remains “committed to continuing to bring Sesame Street into families’ homes.

Also read: ‘Sesame Street’ Shifts to HBO Max

“Sesame Street is and has always been an important part of television culture and a crown jewel of our preschool offering,” a statement said.

Already, it was known that HBO Max would lose 36 series and TV shows, including Sesame Street spinoff The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, as newly merged -- and heavily indebted -- parent company Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to trim costs.

A CNBC report said WBD is looking to reduce its residuals burden as it approaches the merger of Discovery Plus' primarily nonfiction catalog with the HBO Max library in a combined SVOD service that will supersede both platforms next year. The emphasis is on self-produced shows and movies ... and more specifically, kids and family programming.

Much of the content being removed is self-produced. Moving to platforms outside the WBD umbrella will result in "tens millions of dollars" in savings on residual payments, a source told CNBC. 

“As we work toward bringing our content catalogs under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and Discovery Plus. That will include the removal of some content from both platforms,” an HBO Max rep said in a statement.

The spinoff of WarnerMedia by AT&T and subsequent merger of the asset in a $43 billion deal with Discovery resulted in a media conglomerate with $55 billion in debt. 

WBD's management team, led by Discovery boss David Zaslav, has pledged to find $3 billion in immediate trims.

About 70 HBO Max staffers were laid off last week. Earlier, it was reported that a fully produced feature intended to be distributed first on HBO Max, Batgirl, was being shelved. 

Documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street premieres on HBO December 13. Inspired by the book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, by Michael Davis, the film is directed by Marilyn Agrelo.

HBO calls Street Gang “a rare window into the early days of Sesame Street, revealing the creators, artists, writers and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children’s programs in television history. The documentary focuses on the first two experimental and groundbreaking decades of Sesame Street, highlighting this visionary ‘gang’ that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and engaged children in ways that entertained and educated in new and innovative ways.”

HBO Max will stream the movie.  

In the late 1960s, television executive Joan Ganz Cooney reached out to Muppets creator Jim Henson and children’s television writer/director Jon Stone to craft Sesame Street. “The creative team knew their bold vision would only move the needle if it appealed to both children and their parents. Inspired by the civil rights movement, Cooney took this one step further, envisioning a program that would not only entertain and educate children, but specifically reach urban communities with less advantaged children with low socioeconomic status, in an effort to fight the educational gap that racism and poverty created,” said HBO.

The film features over 20 original cast and creator interviews. 

Trevor Crafts, Ellen Scherer Crafts and Lisa Diamond produce Street Gang while Brian O’Shea, Nat McCormick, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Mark Myers and Heather Kenyon executive produce. Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller exec produce for HBO. 

Author Davis is a co-executive producer. 

HBO acquired Sesame Street in 2015. ■

Season 52 of Sesame Street begins on Cartoonito on HBO Max Nov. 11. New episodes drop on Thursdays and the season is on PBS Kids in fall 2022. 

Getting the season together amid the pandemic was “an enormous undertaking,” according to Ben Lehmann, Sesame Workshop’s senior VP & head of live action and Sesame Street executive producer. 

The shutdown in March 2020 came in a dark week for Sesame Street. Days out of the studio turned into weeks, then months. “Restarting was definitely a huge production challenge,” said Lehmann. 

Sesame shoots at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. The decision was made to shoot some episodes outdoors, the producers thinking that was a safer option than having the cast and crew inside for all episodes. 

Shot in the summer of 2020, seven episodes ventured outside. Elmo Mails a Letter saw Elmo check out the post office in Queens. In Hike Pirates, Abby Cadabby, Rudy and Freddy followed a map to find hidden treasure at Croton Gorge Park in Westchester County, north of New York City. Five episodes were filmed on location at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, also in Westchester. The first episode in the Harvest Moon bunch is Sesame Street Goes to the Farm. 

Lehmann said the al fresco episodes “came out beautiful.” 

He added, “The storylines came out of the necessity of, how do you do production during COVID?”

There was also a special episode, Elmo’s Playdate: Scavenger Hunt, shot at a crew member’s home in the New York suburbs. That aired in summer 2020. 

Guest stars in the new season include Jon Batiste, bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, the young poet who shared a poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, and Kacey Musgraves. Batiste offers a unique take on Sesame classic “People in Your Neighborhood,” dedicated to essential worker heroes. Gorman writes a poem with Elmo. 

Two episodes touch on racial justice. The episode Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 13) sees Elmo, Tamir and friends make a Peace Tree to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, and Let’s Grow Together (Feb. 17) sees Alan share his Japanese-American heritage with the gang, as they make pickled daikon. 

And Elmo has a new puppy, Tango, who appears in the season premiere. Lehmann called the adopted puppy “a great way to expand on Elmo’s character.”

Sesame Street and CNN are teaming up Saturday, Nov. 6 for a town hall special on the COVID-19 vaccine. The half-hour special, The ABCs of COVID Vaccines, will be hosted by CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and anchor Erica Hill, along with Sesame Street’s Big Bird and other assorted characters. It airs at 8:30 a.m. ET on CNN and CNN International.

“Familiar faces from Sesame Street and experts from CNN and across the country will be ready to answer children’s questions about the Covid-19 vaccine and staying healthy, and coping with big feelings as they continue to face unprecedented challenges in their young lives,” said CNN. 

The ABCs of COVID Vaccines builds on Sesame Workshop’s “Caring for Each Other” initiative, according to CNN, which provides resources for parents and families during the pandemic. 

CNN and Sesame Street have collaborated on six town halls for children, supporting families through the pandemic and racial justice movement. 

The 52nd season of Sesame Street premieres on Cartoonito, a programming block of Cartoon Network and HBO Max, Nov. 11. HBO picked up first-run rights for Sesame in 2015, and HBO Max began airing the show in 2020.

CNN and HBO Max are part of WarnerMedia. 

Season 52 of Sesame Street is on Cartoonito, a programming block on Cartoon Network and HBO Max, Thursday, Nov. 11. New episodes drop every Thursday. The season has 35 episodes. 

The season will be on PBS Kids in the fall of 2022. 

Sesame Street premiered on PBS in 1969. HBO picked up first-run rights in 2015. Beginning with season 51, Sesame Street premiered on HBO Max. 

“Creating this season of Sesame Street during the pandemic has been an enormous undertaking,” said Ben Lehmann, Sesame Workshop’s senior VP & head of live action and Sesame Street executive producer. “Just as our characters use playful problem-solving in the face of challenges, we, too, took a creative approach, finding innovative solutions while keeping our cast and crew safe. We’re proud of what we’ve been able to produce and are grateful to our partners at WarnerMedia and PBS for their continued support of Sesame Street.”

This season welcomes Tango, Elmo’s new adopted puppy. Tango was introduced in the animated special Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets a Puppy in August 2021. The new season of Sesame will feature Elmo & Tango’s Mysterious Mysteries, comprised of 13 five-minute episodes. Elmo and Tango help their friends solve mysteries. 

“The pandemic has presented immense challenges for us all, but particularly for children as they experience this drastically different way of life in their formative years,” said Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Sesame Workshop’s senior VP of curriculum & content. “In spite of those difficulties, we know that children are incredibly resilient. This season’s curriculum is designed to encourage and inspire them to be persistent, continuing to try until they succeed. It’s a message kids and parents can take to heart.”

Guests this season include Jon Batiste, Kacey Musgraves, Naomi Osaka and Billie Eilish.  

Alma’s Way, an animated series centered around 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud Puerto Rican girl growing up in the Bronx, premieres on PBS Kids Oct. 4. The show is created by Sonia Manzano, who played “Maria” on Sesame Street. 

Alma’s Way is inspired by Manzano’s childhood, and she said every character is based on a real relative. It targets children ages four to six. Fred Rogers Productions produces the show. 

Speaking at a TCA event in late summer, Manzano said PBS Kids content head Linda Simensky approached her about creating a show that takes place in a Latin home. “I of course made that more specific and made it a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx, because that's where I was from,” said Manzano. “The topic of the show was left up to me, and I decided to make it a show about thinking. I was struck by the fact that I had met a lot of kids who were very young and were already turned off to school and learning because they thought of schools as places where they just had to take in a lot of information and memorize and learn things at the same level as their peers and at the same moment as their peers.”  

Alma’s family includes her Mami and Papi, younger brother Junior, her Abuelo and their dog Chacho. Each episode showcases different aspects of Latino cultures through language, food, music and customs. Manzano described the show as walking “that bicultural tightrope that is America, that is the Bronx.”  

Puerto Rican, Cuban and Colombian music spices things up. Lin-Manuel Miranda does the theme song. 

Summer Rose Castillo voices Alma. “I'm a lot like Alma because she's a little girl and she's from the Bronx. She's Puerto Rican, and I'm Puerto Rican,” said Castillo. “And she loves to explore her world, and I do too. I love to go hiking with my family, and I also like to figure stuff out as well.”

Manzano joined Sesame Street in 1971 and stepped down in 2015. She said Sesame Street was an influence on the new show. “I learned from Sesame Street that humor takes you a long way and that sincerity takes you a long way,” she said, “and kids really want to live in the real world.” 

Documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, based on the 2008 book by Michael Davis, is out in theaters. Marilyn Agrelo directs the film. 

Davis’s book is Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. It followed an article Davis wrote for TV Guide on the 35th anniversary of Sesame Street in 2004. "I kept hearing these incredible stories about the show and the people who made it," he told B+C. "I realized that no one had really done the full book on Sesame."

Central to the film, which runs for 1 hour and 47 minutes, are Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney, Muppet maven Jim Henson, and director-writer-producer Jon Stone. 

Sesame Street premiered on PBS in 1969. HBO grabbed first-run rights in 2015. Beginning with season 51, Sesame Street premiered on HBO Max and then aired for free on PBS Kids. Sesame spinoff The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo also streams on HBO Max. 

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street got a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Agrelo’s films include the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, about a ballroom dance competition for children in New York. 

ABC is set to air a two-hour special on Sesame Street that will feature celebrity appearances and show the creation of a Black family of Muppets.

Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days will debut April 26 and will highlight the impact of the two-hour show, which has made children and families aware of issues including homelessness, autism, addiction and race

A section of the special will show the creation and introduction of a Black family of Muppets on the show. The new Muppets, Wes Walker and his son Elijah are a part of Sesame Workshop’s new racial justice initiative Coming Together.

The documentary features special guests including W. Kamau Bell, Gloria Estefan, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Whoopi Goldberg, Christopher Jackson, John Legend, Lucy Liu, Olivia Munn, Questlove, Chrissy Teigen and Usher. 

Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days is produced by Time Studios. For Time Studios, the production is directed by Rebecca Gitlitz and executive produced by Alexa Conway and Ian Orefice.

Most kids know how to get to Sesame Street, but how to navigate to the new normal during COVID-19 is a harder job.

AT&T is investing half a million dollars and enlisting some familiar furry faces to help kids and families cope with the global pandemic. 

The investment is in an expansion of Sesame Workshop's Caring for Each Others Sesame Street initiative (Sesame Street first airs on AT&T's HBO). 

The goal is to "help children and their caregivers stay healthy, build resilience, and adjust to a “for-now normal.” 

That will include dealing with the "do's and don't's" of face coverings, the illness of a family member, financial insecurity, and how to adjust to what is increasingly a new normal. 

Sesame Street is shifting to HBO Max, with five new seasons, four spinoff series, specials and its 50-year library moving from HBO. The streaming platform is set to launch in spring 2020. Beginning with season 51, Sesame Street will premiere on HBO Max and then air for free on PBS Kids. HBO will continue to air Sesame Street through season 50.

The five seasons will have 35 episodes apiece. A live-action take on a late-night talk show will be titled The Not Too Late Show with Elmo. Elmo hosts.

The deal includes a new season of Esme & Roy and two new animated series, including Mecha Builders (working title), which HBO Max describes as featuring Sesame Street characters “as heroes in a robot-animation style.” The second one has not yet been announced.

Specials will include The Monster at the End of This Show. A new docuseries will explore key issues for kids and families.

“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, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. “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.”

After a long run on PBS, Sesame Street moved to HBO in 2016. HBO Max stressed that Sesame Street will continue to be available for free on PBS Kids.

“The scope of our partnership with Sesame Workshop is unprecedented,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer, HBO Max, and president, TBS, TNT, and truTV. “The beloved Sesame Street characters and these incredible new shows will be ambassadors for our service and the cornerstone of HBO Max’s extensive kids’ offering.”

The Peabody Board of Jurors today named nine entertainment shows and one children's program released during 2018 as award winners, and said Sesame Street would be honored for 50 years of entertaining and educating kids. They will be celebrated as part of the May 18 awards ceremony, as will documentaries that were named earlier. 

Rita Moreno will receive the Peabody Career Achievement Award, and winners in News/Radio & Podcast/Web/Public Service programming will be announced on April 23, completing the Peabody 30. 

The programs announced as Peabody Award winners Thursday are:

Steven Universe from Cartoon Network Studios (Cartoon Network). "On its surface, Rebecca Sugar’s animated series develops a complex mythology centering around the Crystal Gems—“polymorphic sentient rocks” who protect young Steven and his human friends from cosmic threats. But in this earnest fantasy epic and superhero saga, empathy is perhaps the most important superpower, something our real-world human society needs now more than ever."

Barry from HBO Entertainment in association with Alec Berg and Hanarply (HBO). "Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader has built a dark comedy off the unlikely premise of a hitman who really wants to be an actor and earnestly pursues his dream under the guidance of his has-been acting teacher played by Henry Winkler. Even as one of the quirkiest and entertaining series on TV, “Barry” asks serious questions about emotional connection, the nature of violence, and the cost of doing whatever it takes to keep a secret."

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette from Netflix (Netflix). "Comedian Hannah Gadsby makes a major statement about the social costs of laughing at someone, and about what it means to be the brunt of a joke. She brilliantly finds the tragedy in comedy, in the process breaking apart and reconstructing the standup comedy special format. Throughout, she delivers the thunderous message of the destructive power of heteronormativity, toxic masculinity and male sexual violence, and how easily society tolerates each."

Killing Eve, by Sid Gentle Films Ltd. for BBC America (BBC America). "The tense cat-and-mouse spy thriller—serving as a vehicle for amazing performances by Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer—is also a masterful, playful recalibration of the genre, creating room not just for two women at the helm, but also for women’s interests and circumstances in almost every inch of the plot. Like its psychopathic assassin, Villanelle, it is equal parts terrifying, hilarious, slick, playful, and surprisingly soulful."

Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, by Netflix (Netflix). "Hasan Minhaj has created the perfect model for engaging his fellow millennials in contemporary politics and public life. With his trademark high-octane energy, the first Indian-American and Muslim late-night host brings a welcome voice to political entertainment television. He’s also bold and fearless, taking on the ruthless Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman just weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi."

Pose, Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions (FX Networks). "Set in 1980s New York, Pose follows the ongoing rivalry between the established House of Abundance and the upstart House of Evangelista in an honest telling of trans and gay people of color at a critical time in history. Presided over by Billy Porter’s Pray Tell, the competition and its delicious melodrama serves as backdrop for the burgeoning LGBTQ community and family, doing important representational work and storytelling both on and off the ballroom floor."

Random Acts of Flyness, HBO Entertainment in association with A24 and MVMT (HBO). "Breaking the mold of what we think television is and can be, Random Acts of Flyness ponders what it means to be young and black in America and produces a layered, complex experience of wonder, joy, and insight. The series brilliantly assembles black sonic, visual, and literary worlds into a 21st century cut ‘n’ mix of black aesthetic of absurdity, critique, affirmation, and fun. Most importantly, it does so without a preoccupation with white gaze or desire, centering blackness as a complex, productive historical fact and contemporary lived experience rather than a phobic-obsessed reaction to whiteness."

The Americans, Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions (FX Networks). "If a great drama series is judged—at least, in part—by the way its story ends, then The Americans can easily be counted among the best TV shows in history. Over six seasons, the 1980s-set thriller centered on two Soviet spies deeply undercover as middle-class American parents in a Virginia suburb. In 2018, creators brought the acclaimed story to a masterful conclusion, forcing spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings to make impossible choices as their carefully constructed lives imploded on multiple fronts."

The End of the F***ing World, Clerkenwell Films/Dominic Buchanan Productions for Channel 4 Television and Netflix (Netflix). "Teenage angst collides with dark British humor in this series about a self-identified psychopath and a wily high school rebel who seek adventure outside their boring suburban town. Based on a graphic novel by Charles Forsman, the British-American co-production features deeply funny and moving performances by Jessica Lawther and Alex Barden that capture the confusion of adolescence with intelligence and depth. A wonderfully unorthodox coming-of-age story for 21st century realists and hopeless romantics alike."

The Good Place, Universal Television, Fremulon and 3 Arts Entertainment (NBC). "A Peabody nominee last year, Michael Schur’s fantasy-comedy about the afterlife keeps refusing to follow the formulas of broadcast network sitcoms, constantly renegotiating its format as our favorite contemporary morality play. The energies of Kristin Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil, and D’Arcy Carden, in particular, keep the show moving with virtuosity in every unexpected laboratory from the Good Place to the Bad Place, the afterlife to the Medium Place, and of course, to Earth."

Of HBO and PBS trailblazing children's show Sesame Street, the Peabody Award organization said: "Conceived by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, Sesame Street premiered in 1969 with wide-eyed optimism and determination to make a difference. Structured on the belief that a children’s TV show could help close an achievement gap in preparation for school, while also teaching about the values of diversity, mutual respect, and empathy, it remains one of the 1960s greatest offerings. Its central messages are about appreciating locality, accepting and valuing difference, and learning how to be a massive bird’s friend when you’re a green trash monster. And yet it teaches these lessons, day in and day out, alongside functional lessons about basic math, spelling, logic, patterns, and a love of music, art, and dance. Sesame Street is also honored for its advocacy role in reminding citizens and politicians why public broadcasting is necessary and valuable, challenging us to make a difference and to be good, caring people while we do so."

Pictured: Bill Hader and Henry Winkler in HBO's Barry.

HBO will launch in August a new animated series from Sesame Workshop, the network announced during its Television Critics Association summer press tour session Wednesday.

The series, Esme & Roy, will debut on Aug. 18, and follows a young girl and her best monster friend on adventures as the best monster babysitters in Monsterdale, said network officials.

The todder-targeted series is the first from the makers of Sesame Street in more than a decade, and offers a creative new approach to teaching and mindfulness strategies, said HBO.

In other HBO TCA news, the network announced an Oct. 6 premiere date for Flight of the Conchords: Live At The London Apollo. The musical special – taped at the Eventim Apollo in London – features Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who starred in the 2007-2009 HBO series Flight Of The Conchords.

Flight of the Conchords: Live At The London Apollo is directed by Hamish Hamilton, with Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie and Mike Martinovich serving as executive producers. 

The network also released its original documentary lineup for the remainder of the year. Documentaries and premiere dates include: Swiped: Hooking Up In The Digital Age (debuts Sept. 10); The Oslo Diaries (Sept. 13); Jane Fonda In Five Acts (Sept. 24); Rx Early Detection: A Cancer Journey With Sandra Lee (Oct. 8) The Sentence (Oct. 15); Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped By Boko Haram (Oct. 22); We Are Not Done Yet (November); The Price Of Everything (November); The Truth About Killer Robots (November); Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland (December); Breslin And Hamill: Deadline Artists (December); and Bleed Out (December). 

HBO will launch the 47th season of its iconic children’s series Sesame Street, the network said Monday.

The series, which HBO acquired this past January, will feature a “reimagined Elmo’s World segment, which will include live action films and interactive thinking game such as matching, sorting, and counting, said network officials.

The 25 five-minute Elmo installments will feature the beloved character accompanied by an animated cell phone and learning tool as they tackle daily topics, said HBO.

Sesame Street will also introduce an important kindness curriculum to foster behaviors that can have significant outcomes throughout a child’s life.

“We’re excited to bring back an inventive and interactive take on one of the most successful children’s television segments, Elmo’s World, for today’s kids,” said Brown Johnson, EVP and Creative Director, Sesame Workshop in statement. “Kids love to learn with Elmo, and they are sure to enjoy the beautiful new chalk-drawn world Elmo creates in his imagination. We are also thrilled to be working with the legendary ‘original’ Mr. Noodle, Bill Irwin, and proud to bring two new diverse and multi-talented Mr. Noodles into our ‘World.’”

Season 46 of iconic children’s series Sesame Street will launch on HBO Jan. 16 with 30-minute episodes, as opposed to the previous hour; new opening and closing songs; an updated set; a Cookie-Monster helmed segment called “Smart Cookies”; and a new cast member.

Sesame Street ran on PBS for 45 years. In August, HBO and Sesame Workshop struck a deal to bring the series to HBO for five years. HBO plans to produce 35 episodes a season, nearly twice what was produced on PBS.

The shorter episodes will help kids “focus their attention and engage with each story,” HBO said.

Two episodes will debut at 9:00 a.m. (ET) Saturday, Jan. 16, with new episodes debuting in the same time-slot each Saturday thereafter. New installments will also debut simultaneously on HBO Latino and will be dubbed in Spanish.

The shows will air on PBS Kids next fall.

“Families will see fun and fresh changes to Sesame Street and can depend on their favorite Muppet friends to provide them with engaging and educational content,” Brown Johnson, executive VP and creative director, Sesame Workshop, said. “We’re excited to bring the timeless lessons of Sesame Street to HBO viewers, like learning numbers from The Count, inner strength from Elmo and kindness from Abby.”

The cast’s new addition is Nina, a “young, bilingual, Hispanic woman” who “uses her wit, compassion and charisma” to help the Sesame Street denizens solve their problems. Played by Suki Lopez, Nina works at the laundromat and the bike store.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

HBO will become the first run home of Big Bird as the pay service announced Thursday it has inked a five-season deal with Sesame Workshop to carry the long-running children's series Sesame Street.

The partnership will give HBO rights to air the next five seasons of the iconic children’s program on its pay service and its multiplex channels, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and HBO NOW, said network officials.

PBS, the longtime home of Sesame Street, will be able to receive new episodes of the series free to its member stations nine months after airing on HBO, according to officials.

Sesame Workshop officials said it will be able to produce almost twice as much new content as in previous seasons through the HBO deal. Sesame Workshop will produce a Sesame Street Muppet spinoff series, as well as develop a new original educational series for children. 

“Our new partnership with HBO represents a true winning public-private partnership model,” said Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop’s CEO in a statement. “It provides Sesame Workshop with the critical funding it needs to be able to continue production of Sesame Street and secure its nonprofit mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder; it gives HBO exclusive pay cable and SVOD access to the nation’s most important and historic educational programming; and it allows Sesame Street to continue to air on PBS and reach all children, as it has for the past 45 years.”

Along with new Sesame Street episodes, HBO has also licensed over 150 library episodes of the series, according to the network.

“We are absolutely thrilled to help secure the future of Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop’s mission for the nation’s kids and families,” said Richard Plepler, Chairman and CEO of HBO, and Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “Home Box Office is committed to bringing the most groundbreaking and creative shows to its audience. Sesame Street is the most important preschool education program in the history of television. We are delighted to be a home for this extraordinary show, helping Sesame Street expand and build its franchise.”

The deal comes as OTT services such as Netflix and Amazon continue to ramp up development and distribution of original, children's-targeted series and specials.