Editing Sesame Street (section)

==Format==
{{Main|Format of Sesame Street{{!}}Format of ''Sesame Street''}}
From its first episode, ''Sesame Street''{{'}}s format has utilized "a strong visual style, fast-moving action, humor, and music," as well as animation and live-action short films.<ref>O'Dell, p. 70</ref> When it premiered, most researchers believed that young children did not have long [[attention span]]s, and the show's producers were concerned that an hour-long show would not hold their attention. At first, its "street scenes"—the action recorded on its set—consisted of character-driven interactions. Rather than ongoing stories, they were written as individual, curriculum-based segments interrupted by "inserts" of puppet sketches, short films and animations. This structure allowed producers to use a mixture of styles and characters, and to vary its pace, presumably keeping it interesting to young viewers. However, by season 20, research showed that children were able to follow a story—and the street scenes, while still interspersed with other segments, became evolving storylines.<ref>Morrow, p. 87</ref><ref>Gikow, p. 179</ref>

{{Quote box
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|quote     = We basically deconstructed the show. It's not a magazine format anymore. It's more like the ''Sesame'' hour. Children will be able to navigate through it easier.
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|source    = —Executive producer Arlene Sherman, speaking of the show's restructuring in 2002<ref name="goodman"/>
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On recommendations by [[developmental psychology|child psychologists]], the producers initially decided that the show's human actors and Muppets would not interact because they were concerned it would confuse young children.<ref>Fisch & Bernstein, p. 39</ref> When CTW tested the new show, they found that children paid attention during the Muppet segments and that their interest was lost during the "Street" segments.<ref>Gladwell, p. 105</ref> They requested that Henson and his team create Muppets such as [[Big Bird]] and [[Oscar the Grouch]] to interact with the human actors, and the Street segments were re-shot.<ref>Gladwell, p. 106</ref><ref>Fisch & Bernstein, pp. 39–40</ref>

''Sesame Street''{{'}}s format remained intact until the 2000s when the changing audience required that producers move to a more narrative format. In 1998, the popular "Elmo's World," a 15-minute-long segment hosted by the Muppet Elmo, was created.<ref>Clash, p. 75</ref> Starting in 2014, during the show's 45th season, the producers introduced a half-hour version of the program.<ref name="TIME">{{Cite magazine|last=Dockterman|first=Eliana|date=2014-06-18|title=We're Getting a Half-Hour Version of Sesame Street|url=https://time.com/2894617/sesame-street-half-hour/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113030429/https://time.com/2894617/sesame-street-half-hour/|archive-date=13 January 2022|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-13|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-06-18|title=PBS KIDS to Add New Half-hour SESAME STREET Program on Air and on Digital Platforms This Fall|url=https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-kids-to-add-new-half-hour-sesame-street-program-on-air-and-on-digital-platforms-this-fall/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093307/https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-kids-to-add-new-half-hour-sesame-street-program-on-air-and-on-digital-platforms-this-fall/|archive-date=13 January 2022|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-13|website=PBS Pressroom|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jensen |first=Elizabeth |date=2014-06-17 |title=PBS Plans to Add a Shorter Version of 'Sesame Street' |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/business/media/pbs-to-add-shorter-version-of-sesame-street-in-bid-for-more-viewers.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620173544/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/business/media/pbs-to-add-shorter-version-of-sesame-street-in-bid-for-more-viewers.html |archive-date=2014-06-20 |access-date=2022-01-13 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The new version, which originally complemented the full-hour series, was broadcast weekday afternoons and streamed on the Internet.<ref name="TIME" /> In 2017, in response to the changing viewing habits of toddlers, the show's producers decreased the show's length from one hour to 30 minutes across all its broadcast platforms. The new version focused on fewer characters, reduced pop culture references "once included as winks for their parents", and focused "on a single backbone topic."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harwell |first1=Drew |title=Sesame Street, newly revamped for HBO, aims for toddlers of the Internet age |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2016/01/12/9350ec70-b491-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html |access-date=15 May 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=12 January 2016}}</ref>

The format will be changed yet again in Season 56, as it was announced on October 30, 2023 by ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' that ''Sesame Street'' will be reimagined by completely dropping the half-hour magazine-style format of the long-running children's show in favor of a longer narrative-driven style and more live action Muppet puppet characters. The reimagined format will feature two 11-minute story segments, paired with a new animated series, ''Tales from 123''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weprin |first1=Alex |title=Sesame Street Getting "Reimagined" for Season 56 (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sesame-street-changing-format-tales-from-123-season-56-1235623888/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=30 October 2023 |access-date=31 October 2023}}</ref>