From PBS to HBO

So, Sesame Street is moving to HBO.

Obviously I haven’t watched Sesame Street in years. My kids haven’t seen an episode. They’re familiar with Elmo thanks to Elmo’s World, and maybe Bert and Ernie thanks to YouTube and my obsession with watching them – and certainly any of the Muppet characters who might have appeared on the show.

But still, it’s odd to think Sesame Street’s heading to paid TV rather than PBS.

CNN says the show will appear on PBS, but nine months after their HBO air date.

Will there be commercials? I don’t know how HBO works. We don’t have cable. We don’t have broadcast TV, the so-called free stuff. We don’t have time for it. So it probably doesn’t even matter. My childhood is not my childrens’ childhood – which is probably why Sesame Workshop is bleeding money and having to look for a paid way to distribute their show.

Bert is a lot more belligerent in this first episode than I ever remember.