Sesame Workshop announces ‘virtual playdate’ special with Elmo, celebrity guests

Sesame Workshop has announced a simulcast special to help kids and families feel connected as part of the Caring for Each Other initiative that launched last month.

The primetime television special will be called “Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate,” and will air on WarnerMedia networks HBO, HBO Latino, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and truTV, as well as PBS Kids 24/7 channel and streaming platforms on Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central.

PBS stations will re-air the special throughout the month. Starting April 15, the special will also air in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Singapore, and Canada.

The special will feature everyone’s favorite “Sesame Street” friends alongside celebrity guests Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

“We hope ‘Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate’ will entertain and inspire families at a moment when so many are feeling isolated and overwhelmed by current events,” said Steve Youngwood, Sesame Workshop’s president of Media & Education and chief operating officer. “With help from our distribution partners around the world, this special will encourage parents and kids to gather and relax as a family, in a way that only the ‘Sesame Street’ Muppets can.”

Check out the synopsis for the special:

The half-hour special follows Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, and a few famous friends as they find new ways to play and learn together. Celebrating everything from the EMTs, doctors, and other everyday heroes who are helping families through the health crisis to the simple pleasures of baking cookies at home, the playdate takes the form of a cozy video conference that will feel very familiar to today’s viewers.

Celebrities and Sesame Street friends will sing songs, play games, and take silly dance breaks. Tracee Ellis Ross plays a game of “Elmo Says,” Lin-Manuel Miranda pops in for a few rounds of “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” Anne Hathaway and Elmo get moving with “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” and more. Kids will love getting a visit from their Sesame Street friends, and caregivers will appreciate how the special models playful learning opportunities they can use at home.

“WarnerMedia recognizes how difficult these isolation efforts are for families, especially ones with children,” said Bob Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer. “With ‘Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate’ airing simultaneously across our networks, we are confident that this special will bring family members together for a unique in-home viewing experience that will provide laughter, joy and relief during this challenging time.”

You can learn more about Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative at SesameStreet.org/Caring.