Sesame Street To Comfort Kids in Coronavirus Crisis with Elmo's "Playdate"

The coronavirus pandemic brought everyone on an entirely different day-to-day life routine. Most families are staying together at home safely. Those with kids are more challenged to keep the little ones going throughout the day. "Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate" is coming our way to comfort kids and their families during this challenging era.

WarnerMedia announced that the half-hour special "Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate" will be aired on April 14, Tuesday, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The show is part of Sesame Workshop's "Caring For Each Other" campaign that was launched last month. The primetime special aims to connect kids and families and give a moment of joy and cheers.

"Sesame Street: Elmo's Playdate" will broadcast across HBO, HBO Latino, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and truTV, PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and streaming platforms on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. PBS is planning to rerun the special throughout the month. Audiences from the U.K., Mexico, Singapore, and Canada will be able to watch the following day on April 15.

Special celebrity guests will join the virtual playdate - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Hathaway, and Tracee Ellis Ross. The gang of Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, will play and learn together with their famous friends. Together, the Muppets and special guests will discover and celebrate the doctors, nurses, EMTs (emergency medical technicians), and other heroes in the frontline, who are sacrificing their lives to help families during the global crisis.

While the lovable Muppets sing, dance, bake cookies, the celebrities will do their part in spreading happiness. Fun activities will be featured: Ross will play the "Elmo Says" game. A few rounds of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" will be sung by Miranda. The "Princess Diary" star Hathaway with Elmo will be singing and dancing to "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." The special will be through video conferencing, a familiar tool to home viewers nowadays.

In a press release, Sesame Workshop's president of media & education and COO, Steve Youngwood, said, "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." The virtual playdate. Youngwood added, would motivate parents and kids to be together and relax as a family, "in a way that only the Sesame Street Muppets can."

WarnerMedia, on their part, "recognizes how difficult these isolation efforts are for families, especially ones with children," according to the press release from Bob Greenblatt, Chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment, and Direct-to-Consumer. He further said the virtual playdate would air simultaneously across WarnerMedia networks, and that they are confident the special will bring families together for a "unique in-home viewing experience that will provide laughter, joy and relief" in the current pandemic situation.

The kids will love that Sesame Street friends will get to visit them, according to a press release. It further stated that caregivers could use playful learning methods at home that will be featured on the special.

"Caring for Each Other" is Sesame Street's new hub that is filled with videos, playful learning activities, and other creative ways to support families in staying physically and mentally healthy.