Sesame Street is an internationally popular children’s television variety program. The program first appeared in 1969 in the United States. Now, local versions are produced in many countries. “Sesame Street” was developed by the Children’s Television Workshop under the leadership of American broadcasting executive Joan Ganz Cooney. In the United States, the program has been broadcast mostly on public television. It also has appeared on cable and video-on-demand streaming services.
“Sesame Street” provides educational programming and entertainment for preschool children and youngsters in the early grades of school. The program has been praised for its success in offering its audience material that is humane, nonviolent, and instructional.
The program stars puppet characters called Muppets originally created by American puppeteer Jim Henson. Many of the Muppets have become stars on the program, including Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Kermit the Frog, Oscar the Grouch, the furry red monster Elmo, Bert, and Ernie. The characters teach children the alphabet, numbers, and such values as the importance of friendship and tolerance.
The popularity of “Sesame Street” has led to the emergence of a vast merchandise empire. “Sesame Street” products include storybooks, recordings, coloring books, clothing, and toys. The Muppet characters also starred in the hugely popular “Muppet Show” television program from 1976 to 1981 and in several feature motion pictures, beginning with The Muppet Movie (1979). From 2015 to 2016, the characters starred in another TV show, called “The Muppets.”
