Sesame Workshop Announces Primetime Special

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” has announced a simulcast special, an extension of the Caring for Each Other initiative that the organization launched last month. 

The special, called “Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate,” will air on WarnerMedia networks including HBO, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and truTV as well as PBS Kids and streaming platforms. It will feature celebrity guests Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tracee Ellis Ross.

“We hope ‘Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate’ will entertain and inspire families at a moment when so many are feeling isolated and overwhelmed by current events,” says Steve Youngwood, president, media and education, and chief operating officer, Sesame Workshop. “With help from our distribution partners around the world, this special will encourage parents and kids to gather and relax as a family, in a way that only the ‘Sesame Street’ Muppets can.”

The half-hour special follows Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby and a few famous friends as they find new ways to play and learn together. It will celebrate everyone from EMTs, doctors and other everyday heroes who are helping families through the health crisis, as well as the simple pleasures of baking cookies at home. The playdate takes the form of a cozy video conference that will feel very familiar to today’s viewers. Celebrities and “Sesame Street” friends will sing songs, play games and take dance breaks.

In the U.S., the special will air on April 14 at 7 p.m. ET. Beginning on April 15, the special will also air in the U.K., Canada, Mexico and Singapore.