STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET In Theaters April 23, 2021 On Demand May 7, 2021 & "Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days" Premiering Monday, April 26

 By Laura Medina

We all could use some civility, common courtesy, kindness, and compassion now a days.

Sesame Street has been doing this for fifty long years and we still very much need this.

ABC presents Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days, a two-hour special on the legacy and impact of the beloved global phenomenon, airing Monday, April 26, at 8|7c. The documentary special chronicles the creation of a Black family of Sesame Street Muppets as part of new racial justice initiative. Homelessness, multicultural representation, autism, refugee crises and addiction are just a few of the social issues fearlessly tackled by "Sesame Street" for over a half a century. On MONDAY, APRIL 26 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), ABC presents "Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days," a two-hour documentary special produced by TIME Studios, highlighting the 50-year impact of this iconic show and the nonprofit behind it, Sesame Workshop. The documentary features special guests including W. Kamau Bell, Gloria Estefan, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Whoopi Goldberg, Christopher Jackson, John Legend, Lucy Liu, Olivia Munn, Questlove, Chrissy Teigen and Usher. Additional participating celebrities to be announced at a later date. The special can be viewed the next day on demand.

For over 50 years, "Sesame Street" has addressed and explained diversity, equity, and inclusion around the globe by using the universal tools of music, empathy and celebrity. Through its iconic shows and targeted outreach, Sesame Workshop has found ways to make these daunting and seemingly impossible conversations accessible to people of all ages, usually delivered with the help of a furry friend. "Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days" reflects upon the efforts that have earned "Sesame Street" unparalleled respect and qualification around the globe, including addressing their responsibility to social issues that have historically been seen as taboo such as racial injustice. This special also chronicles the creation and introduction of a Black family of "Sesame Street" Muppets, Wes and Elijah Walker, a father-and-son duo who are at the heart of Sesame Workshop's new racial justice initiative Coming Together.

STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET takes audiences inside the minds and hearts of the “Sesame Street” creators, artists, writers, and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children’s programs in television history.

Inspired by the activism of the late 1960s, socially conscious television executive Joan Ganz Cooney and Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett conducted a revolutionary experiment: to harness the burgeoning power of television and create an educational, impactful, uplifting and entertaining show that could reach children nationwide, especially those living in urban areas. Cooney recruited trailblazing Muppets creator Jim Henson and acclaimed children’s television writer and director Jon Stone to craft the iconic and beloved world of “Sesame Street.”

STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET reintroduces this visionary “gang” of mission-driven artists, writers, and educators that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and created one of most impactful television programs in history. 

With more than 20 interviews with original writers, cast, and crew, and never-before-seen behind the scenes footage, STREET GANG is told from the inside with humor and emotion, weaving together personal narratives and eyewitness accounts. The film explores the original mission of the “gang” that created this cultural phenomenon, now spanning 50-plus years and reaching more than 150 countries