'Sesame Street' moves in with Netflix, but will stay on PBS

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix has thrown “Sesame Street” a safety net with a new streaming deal that offers the popular children's staple a broad reach while keeping it on its long-standing home, PBS, at the same time, the companies announced Monday.

Starting later this year, new episodes will run on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. No specific premiere date was immediately announced. Select past episodes will be available on Netflix worldwide.

The change for the more than 50-year-old show comes after Warner Bros. Discovery — which had aired the show since 2016 — last year decided not to renew its deal for new episodes that air on HBO and Max, though episodes will remain there until 2027.

“This unique public-private partnership will enable us to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the ‘Sesame Street’ they love,” Sesame Workshop said in its press release.

Sal Perez, the show’s executive producer and a Sesame Workshop vice president, told The Associated Press recently that segments on the new season will be longer and “really focused on character,” while also focusing on its audience’s emotional well-being and development.

For Season 56, episodes will revolve around one 11-minute story, the Netflix release said.

“The more kids want to hang out with our characters on ‘Sesame Street,’ the more they’re going to take in those lessons,” said Perez, adding that there would also be updates to the show’s look and feel. The new season will also feature more exploration of the “Sesame Street” neighborhood and a look inside the legendary two-story brownstone at 123 Sesame Street that houses Elmo, Bert and Ernie and more.

“I strongly believe that our educational programming for children is one of the most important aspects of our service to the American people, and ‘Sesame Street’ has been an integral part of that critical work for more than half a century,” said Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS. “We’re proud to continue our partnership in the pursuit of having a profound impact on the lives of children for years to come.”

“Sesame Street” has been shown in more than 150 countries, amassing more than 200 Emmys in addition to Grammy and Peabody awards and a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime artistic achievement. Its fan-favorite characters like Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird and the Cookie Monster will now reside along the likes of Ms. Rachel, Blippi and the residents of “CoComelon Lane.” Netflix says “Kids and Family” programming makes up 15% of the streamer's total viewing.

Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie speak with Sal Perez, executive producer and VP of Sesame Street at Sesame Workshop, after Sesame Workshop won the Elevate Prize Foundation's Catalyst Award, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

Sal Perez, executive producer and VP of Sesame Street at Sesame Workshop, right, talks to Versha Sharma, editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue, after Sesame Workshop won the Elevate Prize Foundation's Catalyst Award, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

FILE - Elmo of the film "Being Elmo" poses for a portrait in the Fender Music Lodge during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utahm Jan. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Victoria Will, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)