‘The Last of Us' Review: Episode 7 Makes a Generational Choice — Spoilers
[Editor's note: The following review contains spoilers for 'The Last of Us' Season 2, Episode 7 — the Season 2 finale. For additional coverage, including previous episode reviews, check out IndieWire's 'Last of Us' landing page.]
'Maybe she got what she deserved.'
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'Maybe she didn't.'
To open 'The Last of Us' Season 2 finale, Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) share the above exchange about Nora (Tati Gabrielle), the member of Abby's (Kaitlyn Dever) posse who Ellie chased down, tortured, and left to die at the end of Episode 5. But by the end of Episode 7, viewers may very well be repeating the debate about Ellie, whose ultimate fate makes for an agonizing cliffhanger that won't be resolved until Season 3 premieres (at least).
Did Abby shoot Ellie like she shot Jesse (Young Mazino), R.I.P.? Did she wound her? Did she miss? Of course, I'm desperate for Ellie to survive, but 'The Last of Us' already killed off one of its leads this season and, more importantly, it's clear co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (who cowrote the Season 2 finale with Halley Gross) want viewers to consider not just what they want to happen, but what these characters have chosen for themselves.
Sans sentiment, Ellie's moral report card is grim. She tortured and killed Nora. She shot and killed Owen (Spencer Lord), as well as Mel (Ariela Barer), the latter of whom was pregnant when she died. Sure, Mel's death was an accident, but that's hardly an excuse when Ellie's entire plan is built around murdering people.
On the other hand, Ellie's ethical judgement showed signs of improvement in Episode 7; that her experience in Seattle (and lingering memories of Joel) may be steering her away from vengeance and toward mercy. Saying 'maybe she didn't' about Nora deserving to die (and be tortured), as well as telling Dina why Abby was so fixated on finding Joel to begin with, is a good sign for Ellie's level of bloodlust. If she's open to considering other opinions, instead of just finding Abby at all costs, that's progress. (Her revelation also drives a wedge between her and Dina, which speaks to how hard — and how important — it must've been for Ellie to divulge.)
Granted, Ellie suffers a setback when she realizes where Abby is hiding. (The only words Nora said to Ellie were 'whale' and 'wheel,' so when she spots them both by Seattle's Aquarium, the dead-end suddenly becomes an open door, and she can't stop herself from walking through.) Long before her interrogation of Abby's crew goes so quickly sideways, it's clear Ellie should've gone with Jesse to help Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Tommy came to Seattle to help her. He cares about her, and she cares about him. He's part of her community, and he's still alive.
Joel isn't. And if Ellie's decisions really were dictated by what Joel would want, there's no way he would rather Ellie kill his killer than save his brother. (Back in Episode 3, Tommy even said as much: 'He'd be halfway to Seattle to save my life,' Tommy said, when Ellie tried to argue Joel would go to Seattle to avenge Tommy's death. 'But when we lost people, no. It would just break him, like it was his fault. I saw that time and time again.') But Ellie isn't hearing it. There's too many variables. 'Fuck the community!' Ellie screams. 'You let a kid die today, Jesse. Because why? He wasn't in your community? Let me tell you about my community. My community was beaten to death in front of me while I had to fucking watch.'
To be fair, Jesse didn't 'let' anyone die. There was no way they could've saved the Scar who was trapped by W.L.F. soldiers. Ellie and Jesse vs. a literal army? Sorry, but they're taking an 'L' on that one. But the selective responsibility Ellie points out does bring up one of the show's thornier subjects: Where do you draw the line when it comes to helping others when doing so comes at great personal risk to yourself?
With the Scar boy from earlier that day, it's a relatively easy choice. But Jesse and Tommy already made a harder choice — to come to Seattle to save Ellie and Dina — and Jesse, as he explains to Ellie, already sacrificed his own romantic happiness to stick in Jackson and help the townsfolk, which includes Ellie. 'I go with that girl to New Mexico,' he says, 'who saves your ass in Seattle?'
Despite Ellie and Jesse accusing (and then, later on, supporting) each other, the difference between them is clear. In Jesse's scenario, neither road available to him is actively harmful: If he goes with the woman to New Mexico, maybe he makes her happy, himself happy, and the people of New Mexico happy. Sure, everyone in Jackson would miss him, but they could've found another leader-in-waiting. Still, he chose to stay. Maybe he's less of a romantic, or maybe — as it's implied here — he's less selfish than Ellie. That doesn't mean 'better'; sometimes you need to be selfish. Ellie just took it too far.
With Ellie, if she had stayed in Jackson, Dina would have been safe. Ellie would have been safe. The people of Jackson would still have two of their best patrol members, Tommy would still have a de facto niece, and Jesse would have been able to see his baby be born. Going had a single best case scenario: Abby would be dead. One more person on this planet would be gone. And for what? Abby isn't a known threat to anyone now that Joel is gone. Ellie's revenge is for her. It's selfish. It's meant to be healing, but it's only sewing more destruction.
Now that destruction is all around her. Nora, Owen, Mel, and Mel's baby are dead. Jesse is dead. Tommy and Dina are wounded, and it's hard to imagine Abby letting them live. Ellie may be gone, too, although — without knowing what happens in the games — I have to imagine her story will continue. Her nature, her soul, is still forming. She hasn't hardened into a monster or softened enough to find mercy. But fate doesn't wait around for you to be ready. Whether she lives or dies, she chose the path that led her here.
'The Last of Us' Season 2 is available on HBO and Max (which is soon to be HBO Max… again). The series has been renewed for Season 3.
• Speaking of monsters, a brief word on the book Ellie picks out for Dina's unborn baby: 'The Monster at the End of This Book,' written by Jon Stone with illustrations by Michael Smollin. The children's book, first published in 1971, tells an innovative meta narrative in which Grover (the 'Sesame Street' character) reads the title of the book and gets scared about what sort of monster is waiting for him at the end. From there, most of the book's 'story' is just Grover begging the reader not to continue, so he doesn't have to encounter the monster, but (spoiler alert) the monster at the end of the book is… Grover.
For kids, the lesson is clear: The scariest monster is the one you build up in your mind. Expectations and reality don't always match up, and sometimes a monster is just… misunderstood. Take that reading a step further (not unlike comedian Gary Gulman's does in his 2024 stand-up special, 'Grandiliquent'), and the monster at the end of the book is the reader themselves, or more accurately, whatever anxiety, trauma, or scarring event from the reader's past they can't seem to escape — and shapes how they see the world. Gee, I wonder how that would apply to Ellie?
• And speaking of presumed leaders who abandon their posts, what the heck is going on with Abby, Isaac (Jeffrey Wright), and the W.L.F.? During 'Seattle Day 3,' she's M.I.A. Isaac sits down with Sgt. Park (Hettienne Park) and complains that Abby and her whole team are missing on 'tonight of all nights.' Later, we get an idea of that night's significance when the W.L.F. sets off a massive explosion at the Seraphites' village. It's unclear who lived and died, what was destroyed, or if anything was accomplished, but it's implied — both by Isaac and by Owen, who doesn't seem to know where Abby is before Ellie walks in on him — that Abby was supposed to be on those attack boats, and she just… wasn't.
Isaac tells Sgt. Park he was planning for Abby to take over someday as the W.L.F. leader, so what happened to make her abandon that trajectory? We'll surely find out in Season 3, considering the final scene flashes back to 'Seattle Day 1' to share what's going on from Abby's perspective. But given the emphasis placed in Season 2 on Jesse's planned ascension in Jackson, as well as Ellie stepping into Joel's shoes, there's a growing emphasis on generational transitions in 'The Last of Us.'
Jesse's succession would've been relatively smooth, given how much he aligned with the current leadership, Tommy and Maria (Rutina Wesley). But Ellie's attempts to follow in Joel's footsteps are bumpy at best. The longer she tries to play the badass avenger, the more she doubts whether that's who she is (and if that's who Joel wanted to be) . Could the same thing be happening to Abby? Could completing her quest for revenge have rattled her enough to drift from the person she was before? Might 'The Last of Us' actually see hope for a better future in a generation of kids so ill at ease with the actions of their elders that they run in the opposite direction?
• For a show that took more than two years between Seasons 1 and 2, it's hard to sit with Mazin & Co.'s chosen endpoint. For one, Season 2 is only seven episodes long, as opposed to Season 1's nine-episode arc. But on top of that, this arc feels incomplete. Ellie's left halfway through a transformative moment. Everything happening between the W.L.F. and the Seraphites feels half-formed, and Abby has barely been fleshed out enough to build anticipation around seeing more of her in Season 3. I enjoyed the time I spent with 'The Last of Us' Season 2 — and I hope you did, too, dear readers — I just wish there was more closure before another long break.
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Los Angeles Times
32 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘The biggest mistake of my life': 6 actors on typecasting, comedy idols and more
Hailing from some of today's funniest TV series, six actors gathered recently for an uninhibited conversation about what it takes to make people laugh at The Envelope's Emmy Roundtable for comedy actors. In Netflix's 'Running Point,' Kate Hudson plays Isla, a woman who becomes pro basketball's first girl boss when she takes over the family franchise. In ABC's 'Abbott Elementary,' Lisa Ann Walter portrays Melissa Schemmenti, a tough grade school teacher in Philly's underfunded public education system. With Hulu's 'Mid-Century Modern,' Nathan Lane takes on the role of Bunny, an aging gay man who brings together a chosen family when he invites two friends to reside in his Palm Springs home. 'Hacks' co-creator Paul W. Downs does double duty as Jimmy, the manager to legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in the Max series. Bridget Everett, creator of HBO's 'Somebody Somewhere,' plays Sam, a cabaret singer who moves back to her family's sleepy Kansas town to take care of her dying sister. And David Alan Grier stars as Dr. Ron, a devoted physician and cranky veteran who's seen it all in the overrun ER of a small-town hospital in NBC's 'St. Denis Medical.' The talented group spoke with The Times about their respective shows, typecasting and the risks one takes to make great comedy. Read on for excerpts from our discussion — and watch video of the roundtable below. The best comedy pushes boundaries, which means it can also skirt the edge of offensive. How do you know if you've gone too far, or haven't pushed it enough? Downs: In the 'Hacks' pilot, Jean Smart's character, Deborah Vance, says there is no line. I think there's nothing off limits, because it's really about execution and thoughtfulness. The thing that makes edgy comedy not funny is when it causes harm, when it's something that's punching down, when it's not something that can bring people together. That, to me, isn't worth it. But there's nothing that's too taboo, because that's what comedy is for. It's to examine things, explore things, get close to the edge. Everett: I think that comedy is about making people feel good. I want to make people feel joy. So as long as I'm not hurting anybody's feelings, I think everything's on the table. Grier: I don't think you know the edge and that's why it's dangerous. I've done things where I thought, 'This is too much,' and things where I thought, 'We didn't go far enough.' So you have to play that game. My intention is never to anger and offend, but you do have to put yourself in that position and take a chance, especially with comedy. You can prescreen it, but who are you prescreening it to? Sixty-year-old white women? High school kids? You have to take a chance. Hudson: I'm not a stand-up [comedian], so it's fun to watch people walk that line. It's exciting. What are they going to say? Is it going to be offensive? Is it not? Is it going to be brilliant? That's part of what's fun about being an audience of adult comedy. But I don't like mean comedy. It's really hard for me to see. I've been asked to do roasts a million times, and I just can't do it. It just doesn't move me in any way. Lane: I was asked. This was the biggest mistake of my life. ... A Friars [Club] Roast that was going to happen. [Jerry Lewis] was going to be roasted. And Richard Belzer said to me, 'Oh, Nathan, would you be a part of it? Would you do it? It would mean a lot to Jerry.' And I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, sure. I'll do the roast.' And then I'm suddenly there and I'm sitting next to Paul Shaffer and Jeff Ross, who apologized in advance for what he might say. And I realized then that, 'Oh, you're not getting up and just roasting this person. You're attacked. You're on the dais.' So I thought, 'Oh, what have I gotten into?' And I had asked them, 'Please let me go first.' And I had worked out jokes. I had a couple of writers help me, and there was an initial joke, which was, 'The only reason I agreed to do this was because I thought by the time it happened, Jerry would be dead.' Walter: I'm on a show that's got a lot of kids, and families can watch it together, which was [creator] Quinta Brunson's intention. But there are things that the kids won't get and that adults get. Melissa Schemmenti gets bleeped out regularly because she curses. She's South Philly! As a comic, I only am interested in edge, that's where I want to live … It's easier to make a point and get ears when you're making people laugh. And we do that on the show quite frequently. They'll do a storyline about the school-to-prison pipeline, but it's not ham-fisted, it's not preachy. It's edgy and it's all within jokes. Anytime you're making people laugh, I think you can say whatever you want. What's the strangest or most difficult skill you've had to learn for a role? Hudson: In 'Almost Famous,' [director] Cameron [Crowe] wanted me to learn how to roll cigarettes fast with one hand. And so I was learning how to roll, and I got really good at it really fast. And then when we were doing camera tests, I was doing it and I was smoking. And he was like, 'No.' And I was like, 'What? I just spent months trying to learn how to do that!' Then I started rolling my own cigarettes and got into a really bad habit and then spent years trying to quit. Downs: On 'Broad City,' I had to learn and do parkour. It's high skill level and high risk. You know, when you jump off buildings and roll around ... [leap] off chairs and over fire hydrants. I did it, but not a lot of it ended up onscreen. Just the most comedic moments. I jumped between buildings and they didn't even put it in! Lane: When I did 'Only Murders in the Building,' they said, 'So you have a deaf son and you're going to have scenes with him in ASL [American Sign Language].' It was challenging. I had a coach and I would work with him. And the wonderful young actor, James Caverly, who is Deaf ... he was very supportive. If I had to become fluent, it would've taken six months to a year to do it well. But I had an advantage; they said, 'Oh, your character is embarrassed by having a deaf son, so he didn't learn it until later in life. So he's not that good at it.' But it was a great thing to learn. I loved it. Grier: I did an episode of a sitcom in which it was assumed, unbeknownst to me, that I was very proficient playing an upright bass. This is not true. I played cello as a child. I had to play this upright bass and as a jazz musician. It was horrible. Your fingers swell and blister and bleed. Of course, I went along with it because that's what we're all supposed to do. But by Day 4, my fingers were in great pain. I never mastered it. But I did want to ask them, 'Who told you I could play?' Everett: I did a little trapeze work, but since the knee thing, I can't anymore … [Laughs] Lane: This was the independent film about the Wallendas, right? Everett: The truth is I've never had to do anything. Really. I had to rollerblade once in a Moby video, but that doesn't seem like it's going to stack up against all this, so maybe we should just move on to the next person. I would do trapeze, though. I'll do anything. Well, not anything. Can we just edit this part out in post? Hudson: I'm in love with you. Walter: In a movie I did where I started out as the nosy neighbor, I found out that I was going to be a cougar assassin and I had to stunt drive a Mustang and shoot a Glock. It was a surprise. Literally. When I got to set, I saw my wardrobe and went, 'I think I'm playing a different character than what I auditioned for.' ... They put the car on a chain and I got T-boned. I was terrified, but then I was like, 'Let's go again!' That was the most dangerous thing until I had to do a South Philly accent as Melissa, and do it good enough so that South Philly wouldn't kill me. That was probably more dangerous. Let's talk about typecasting. What are the types of roles that frequently come to you, where you're like 'Oh, my God, not again!' Lane: Oh, not another mysterious drifter. Hudson: Rom-coms. If I can't get a job doing anything else, I can get a job doing a romantic comedy. When you have major success in something, you realize the business is just so excited [that] they want you in them all the time. It really has nothing to do with anything other than that. It's something that I'm very grateful for, but you're constantly having to fight to do different things. I'd be bored if I was constantly doing the same thing over and over again. But it's just how the business works. Once you're in that machine, they just want to keep going until they go to somebody else. Walter: I can't tell you how bored I am with being the gorgeous object of men's desire. I named my first production company Fat Funny Friend … But as a mother of four in Los Angeles, I didn't really have the luxury of saying, 'I want to branch out.' But I did say, 'Can I play someone smart?' My father was a NASA physicist. My mother was brilliant. I was over doing things I could do in my sleep, always getting the part of the woman who sticks her head out of the trailer door and goes, 'I didn't kill him, but I ain't sorry he's dead!' ... It's like, 'Can I play someone who has a college education?' And I did, finally, but it took Quinta to do it. Grier: I've found that the older I've gotten, the roles I'm offered have broadened. And I've played a variety of really challenging great roles because I'm old now. That's been a real joy because I didn't really expect that. I just thought I'd be retired. I did. So it's been awesome. Lane: There was an article written about me, it was sort of a career-assessment article. It was a very nice piece, but it referred to me as the greatest stage entertainer of the last decade. And as flattering as it was, I can find a dark cloud in any silver lining. I felt, 'Oh, that's how they see me?' As an 'entertainer' because of musicals and things [I did] like 'The Birdcage' or 'The Lion King.' I'd been an actor for 35 years and I thought, 'I have more to offer.' So I wound up doing 'The Iceman Cometh' in Chicago ... and that would change everything. It was the beginning of a process where I lucked out and got some serious roles in television, and that led to other things. But it was a concerted effort over a period of 10, 15 years, and difficult because everybody wants to put you in a box. Is it difficult in the industry to make the move between drama and comedy? Walter: It's a lifelong consternation to me that there is an idea that if you are known comedically, that's what you do. We are quite capable of playing all of the things. Grier: I remember seeing Jackie Gleason in 'The Hustler.' I loved it. He was so great. Robin Williams also did serious. I think it's actually harder when you see serious actors try to be comedians. Downs: One of the things about making 'Hacks' is we wanted to do something that was mixed tone, that it was funny and comedic but also let actors like myself, like Jean, all of these people, have moments. Because to us, the most funny things are right next to the most tragic things. Hudson: And usually the most classic. When you think about the movies that people know generation after generation, they're usually the ones that walk the line. And they're the ones that you just want to go back and watch over and over and over again. Everett: I haven't had a lot of experience with being typecast because I've been in the clubs for a long time doing cabaret. But on my show, Tim Bagley, who plays Brad … he's been doing the same characters for I don't know for how long. So we wrote this part for him, and one of the most rewarding things for me on this show was sitting behind the monitor and watching him get to have the moment he deserved ... It's one of the greatest gifts to me as a creator to have been part of that. It's a whole thing in my show. We're all getting this break together. We've all struggled to pay our rent well into our 40s. I waited tables into my 40s, but you don't give up because you love doing it. I'm sure many of you are recognized in public, but what about being mistaken for somebody else who's famous? Grier: I went to a performance of a David Mamet show on Broadway. I went backstage, and this particular day, it was when Broadway was raising money to benefit AIDS. There was a Midwestern couple there with their young son and they saw me, and the house manager said, 'This couple, they're going to give us an extra $1,000 if you take a picture with them. Would you mind?' I'm like, 'Yeah, cool.' So I'm posing and the dad goes, 'It is our honor to take a picture with you, Mr. LeVar Burton.' Now in that moment, I thought if I say no, people will die. So I looked at them and I went, 'You liked me in 'Roots?'' He said, 'We loved you.' Click, we took the picture. I'm not going to be like, 'How dare you?!' Walter: Peg Bundy I got a couple of times. But as soon as I open my mouth, they know who I am. I can hide my hair, but as soon as I talk, I'm made. Hudson: I've had a lot of Drew Barrymore. And then every other Kate. Kate Winslet, Katie Holmes ... I've gotten all of them. Walter: Do you correct them? Hudson: Never. I just say yes and sign it 'Cate Blanchett.' I'd love to know who everybody's comedic inspiration was growing up. Walter: My dad used to let me stay up and watch 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' and 'Laugh-In.' I got to see Ruth Buzzi, rest in peace, and Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin. Jo Anne Worley. All these funny women. That's what made me think, 'You can get a job doing this, the thing that I get in trouble for at school?!' Grier: My comedy hero was Richard Pryor. I was this Black little boy in Detroit, and George Jessel would come on 'The Mike Douglas Show' and he might as well have been speaking Russian. I'm like, 'How can this be comedy?' Then I saw Richard Pryor, and he was the first comic who I just went, 'Well, this guy's hilarious.' Downs: I remember one of the first comedies that my dad showed me was 'Young Frankenstein.' I remember Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn. All of these women. I was always like, 'They're the funniest ones.' Hudson: My era growing up was Steve Martin, Martin Short, Albert Brooks, Mel Brooks. But women were, for me, the classics. Lucille Ball. Walter: There was a time when I was growing up where women really dominated comedy. They were your mom [nods at Hudson, Hawn's daughter], Whoopi [Goldberg], Bette Midler. The biggest stars of the biggest comedies were women, and then that all went away for a really long time. I think it found its way back with Judd Apatow and then he made 'Bridesmaids.' Hudson: I tried really hard to make edgy comedy and studios wouldn't do it. They wouldn't. It took Judd to convince the studio system that women are ready. That we can handle rated-R. In the '70s and '80s, there was a ton of rated-R comedy with women. But for some reason, it just all of a sudden became like, 'Oh, there's only 1½ demographics for women in comedy.' I always felt like it was an uphill battle trying to get them made. Then I remember when Jenji [Kohan] came in with 'Orange Is the New Black.' That was really awesome. Lane: Above all, it was always Jackie Gleason for me. He was such an influence. He was hilarious, and of course, very broadly funny, but then there was something so sad. It was such pathos with him. ... He was this wonderful, serious actor, as well as being Ralph Kramden. Everett: There's nobody that taught me more about how to be funny than my mom. She just had this way of being that I have used in my live shows. It's led to where I am now. She used to wet her pants [laughing] so she had to put towels down on all the chairs in the house. She just didn't care. That shows you to not care, to go out there. I live in fear, but not when I feel like she's with me. Grier: That's the edge. You're either going to weep or you're going to [laugh] until you urinate.
Yahoo
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'And Just Like That' Star, 54, Debuts Stunning Hair Transformation at Premiere Event in Paris
'And Just Like That' Star, 54, Debuts Stunning Hair Transformation at Premiere Event in Paris originally appeared on Parade. Nicole Ari Parker switched it up with a sizzling hair transformation, debuting the new look while attending a recent event. For the function, held on a rooftop at France's Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) in Paris, France, on Wednesday, May 28, the Soul Food star showed off an auburn bob with blunt, choppy layers, slightly darker roots, and wispy curtain bangs. Though the longtime actress often switches up her hairstyles, she more frequently opts for honey-blonde and brown hues, so the red color definitely popped and stood out from her usual. Perfectly complementing the bold vibe of her hair, the And Just Like That... actress chose an ensemble comprised of mix-matched prints as she posed for pictures directly in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower at the photo call for the MAX series, in which she plays Lisa Todd Wexley. Parker, 48, donned a black and white satin blouse with a thick waist belt paired with light pink loose-fitting Bermuda shorts and square-toe, snakeskin wedge mules. Just a week prior, the Brown Sugar actress made the New York photo call a family affair, posing alongside husband Boris Kodjoe, 52, and their two children, daughter Sophie Tei-Naaki Lee Kodjoe, 20, and son Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe, 18. And Just Like That... Season 3 premieres on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on MAX. New episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays, with the season finale dropping via the streamer on Aug. 14.'And Just Like That' Star, 54, Debuts Stunning Hair Transformation at Premiere Event in Paris first appeared on Parade on May 29, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Netflix Saves ‘Sesame Street' From Trump's Reign of Terror
There are still sunny days ahead for Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby, who have all survived Trump's recent assassination attempt, thanks to the rescue efforts of Netflix. The streamer just announced that beloved children's program Sesame Street will move to its service, after the Trump administration cut funding for its decades-long home, PBS. The news comes following a tough few months for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, which lost its contract with HBO after the network sought to shift away from children's programming. Then, another financial blow came from the current administration, after President Donald Trump cut federal funding to PBS, the free public broadcasting service that's been airing Sesame Street for over 50 years. These issues caused what executives described as a 'perfect storm' of problems for the program. Under the new Netflix agreement, new episodes will premiere on Netflix and PBS on the same day, ensuring the educational program stays accessible for millions of children across the country. That in itself is a gesture of good will between the streamer and the public broadcaster that could be construed as a political gesture amid Trump's cuts. 'This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop 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 CEO Sherri Westin said in a statement. The Netflix deal will begin with the 56th season of Sesame Street later this year and will feature new formatting changes, dropping the magazine-style format in favor of 11-minute story sequences. The show will also take a more character-driven focus as is typical of other popular children's shows like Bluey. As soon as the news dropped about Sesame Street finding a new home, people took to social media to celebrate, expressing their relief that the program can continue despite Trump's funding cuts. Thanks to the new deal, Elmo and his friends will get continue to do what they've always done best: teach kids how to read and count, all while making sure they feel like they will always have a friend to guide them in this chaotic world.
