Earlier this year, "Sesame Street" was shaken with controversy after announcing a five-year partnership deal with HBO after decades on PBS, prompting a lot of talk about funding public networks; now that the tides have appeased following the announcement, the premium cable network is giving the first details about the "Sesame Street" HBO move.
Besides announcing that the "Sesame Street" HBO version will be premiering on January 16 at 9 a.m., the network is making more than a few changes to the classic show, including one major one that might upset generations worth of viewers: the show's actually getting a new theme song after 45 years.
According to Adweek, the network responsible for "Game of Thrones" and "The Leftovers" has announced that the "Sesame Street" HBO version will see the long-standing favorite making "the boldest changes to the Street" today, also lowering the length of episodes to 30 minutes after decades of 60-minute ones.
Other changes include not only different opening and closing songs but also a different set for the "Sesame Street" HBO version, featuring updated homes for beloved characters like Elmo, Big Bird and the Cookie Monster, making it clear that the show's moved to a whole different neighborhood from PBS to HBO.
EnGadget reports that the "Sesame Street" HBO stint will also include new streaming possibilities for the show, as those who are in the HBO Go and HBO Now services will be able to access the past five years of "Sesame Street" episodes.
According to Variety, PBS will still be getting new episodes as well, only a few months afterwards, which might not be that big a deal in itself considering it's aimed at children who aren't all that picky about getting original content at the moment it's released.
In any case, check out a teaser for the "Sesame Street" HBO 46th season below!
