The puppets of Sesame Street are heading to HBO, and the news has shocked netizens.
According to NBC, the well-loved children's educational TV series will begin a five-year deal with HBO for its new season. However, this doesn't mean that the show will no longer be accessed on free TV via PBS, its home for 45 years.
Under the new deal, old episodes of "Sesame Street" will be re-edited and re-aired on PBS as a new season begins on HBO. Then, after nine months, HBO's new episodes will also be aired on PBS and its affiliated networks.
The deal is to help Sesame Workshop, a non-profit organization, as HBO has the money to back it up. This partnership "represents a true, winning public-private partnership model. It provides Sesame Workshop with the critical funding it needs to continue production of 'Sesame Street' and secure its non-profit mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder," according to Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop CEO, via Washington Post.
Some viewers, however, were not thrilled of the changes, citing that HBO isn't exactly well-known for its family-friendly shows. "This is an abomination," said Sydney Coleman, per NY Post. "I cannot let my kids watch this because of my fear of what could possibly be on next and having my kids watch something like 'The Sopranos.' "
Netizens, on the other hand, were quick to mock the partnership on social media. Twitter users expressed their sentiments by posting photos, jokes, etc.
This tweet alluded to the fact that one of HBO's most popular shows, "The Sopranos," use the F-word a lot, and it's not the kind that kids need to learn.
Sesame Street is moving from PBS to HBO. You want to learn the letter F? I'll teach you the letter F. pic.twitter.com/d5LUeSRoHS
— JRehling (@JRehling) August 13, 2015
Another tweet showed a photo of HBO's graphic and violent show, "Game of Thones," but this time, replacing Jon Snow with Elmo's face.
"you know nothing jon elmo" pic.twitter.com/EcMoCkK7UV — darth™ (@darth) August 13, 2015
Will Sesame Street crossover with Game of Thrones now? — Bradley Geiser (@therealbradg) August 13, 2015
Others, however, were more serious with their reactions, such as this tweet from comedian Brian Griaar.
I get why Sesame Street did the HBO deal but it makes me sad we're privatizing a national treasure originally aimed at educating poor kids
— Brian Gaar (@briangaar) August 13, 2015
He also tweeted, "Sesame Street will still air on PBS but the poors can see it a year after the truly needy kids who can afford the best schools."
According to Time, HBO's decision to take "Sesame Street" is all about its competition with Netflix.
