Calling “Sesame Street” children’s programming is like calling “Saturday Night Live” a sketch comedy show or “The Simpsons” a cartoon. Technically, it may be accurate, but the label fails to grasp its wide and powerful reach in pop culture.
Case in point: During a recent visit to “The Tonight Show,” Maroon 5’s Adam Levine stumbled on the words to “The Muffin Man” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” but he got the lyrics to the “Sesame Street” theme spot-on.
As the series kicks off its 45th season this week, it looks to maintain its cultural place by doing what it’s always done: teach basic learning skills to preschool-age children.
“At this point, the show is such a well-oiled machine, there are times I think if all of us went away, the show would still get done,” says Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of “Sesame Street.” “And that’s the challenge: not to let the machine get in the way of evolution and innovation.”