Not Necessary Censorship: Sesame Street Edition

End Of An Era

Today, the U.S. Senate voted to defund PBS & NPR, marking a seismic shift in the way Americans (and anyone with PBS on their channel lineup) access public media. The Public Broadcasting System as well as National Public Radio will continue to exist, just with zero federal funding.

And with that, one of its most iconic programs, Sesame Street, completes its move off of the public sphere and onto the private streaming playground: Netflix.

First launched in 1969, Sesame Street has been on the air for over five decades, making it one of the longest-running television shows of all time. It blended education with entertainment in a way no one had seen before, and is definitely the reason I knew my ABCs & could count to 10, before ever going to school.

And it wasn’t just for kids. Over the years, the show pulled in guest stars from every genre, including Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, R.E.M., Foo Fighters, Jack White, Dave Grohl, and Chris Martin from Coldplay even played piano for Elmo.

Uncensored On Netflix?

It's bittersweet to have the iconic brand & characters leave public access, only to now be behind a streaming paywall. Sure, "most" people have Netflix, but $19.99 per month is a steep price for your kid's education. Hopefully your ex still hasn't changed their password.

However, the alternative to Sesame Street being completely cancelled and going away is unacceptable. So, as we embrace the change, we can only imagine what an adult version of Sesame Street might look & sound like on the uncensored version of a streaming tier.

Thanks to the return of "Not Necessary Censorship", we don't have to imagine!