''Sesame Park'' is the Canadian version of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' co-produced by

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...

and the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

. The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named ''Sesame Street Canada'' and later, ''Canadian Sesame Street'', with some of the segments replaced with ones produced in Canada and later featuring Canadian-exclusive Muppet characters. In 1996, the series adopted a new format and was renamed ''Sesame Park''.

''Canadian Sesame Street''

Daniel McCarthy, the director of the CBC Sesame Street Project, developed ''Sesame Street Canada'' for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. The series, which debuted in 1972, was originally a hybrid of American and Canadian production segments. McCarthy partnered with the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...

to introduce new, CBC-produced segments to the show's original American footage. He also introduced distinct Canadian themes and set designs to the show. The series was later titled ''Canadian Sesame Street.'' During the 1970s and 1980s it anchored a three-show block that included '' Friendly Giant'' (later replaced by ''

Fred Penner's Place ''Fred Penner's Place'' is a Canadian children's television series, children's musical television series that aired on CBC Television from 1985 to 1997. It stars Fred Penner as a fictionalized version of himself, as well as an array of puppets, mu ...

'') and ''

Mr. Dressup ''Mr. Dressup'' is a Canadian children's television series, starring Ernie Coombs, a former understudy of Fred Rogers, in the title role. It ran on CBC Television, CBC from 1967 to 1996, soon becoming an iconic presence in Canadian media. Produ ...

''. Most of the production of the Canadian segments took place in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Halifax, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Content

In 1972, the bulk of ''Sesame Streets content was licensed out to

, originally as five-minute interstitials during commercial breaks. CBC then added live-action and animated segments teaching about Canadian culture and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

, replacing segments on

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and American history on the original program. Some Spanish segments still aired in Canada, although fewer in number and usually related to the show's Hispanic main-cast characters, Maria and Luis. In 1981, the amount of Canadian content per show was increased to 30 minutes. In 1990 a seasonal special was created for the series, titled Basil Hears A Noise.

Characters

In 1987, a series of specially made Canadian

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential style of musical variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, the eponymous media franchise encompasse ...

characters were introduced, including Basil the Bear (similar and equal in role to Big Bird), French-Canadian Louis the

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

(similar and equal in role to Oscar the Grouch), and Dodi the bush pilot. The following year, additional new characters included Dr. Bazuki, Fern, Robert, and

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

-user

Katie Katie is an English female name. It is a form of Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports * Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player * Katie Clark (born 1994), ...

. The Henson Muppet shop also provided some

Anything Muppets The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed h ...

which could be redressed to become whatever characters the script called for, including Barbara Plum (a parody of CBC broadcasting legend

Barbara Frum Barbara Frum (née Rosberg; September 8, 1937 – March 26, 1992), OC was an American-born Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Personal life Barbara Frum was born ...

). Beau

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

, an animated character, would discuss national symbols, particularly those appearing on Canadian money. In 1994, anchorman Peter Londonbridge and storyteller Margaret Redwood were added to the cast.

Messaging

The 1987 season focused on multiculturalism, family, and the environment.

''Sesame Park''

In 1996, the CBC decided to take on the job of producing different kinds of content for the series; specifically to have their own "street". Producer Shirley Greenfield and screenwriter

Jill Golick Jill Golick (born 1956 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian screenwriter, story editor, digital creator and blogger. Education Golick attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre. She lives a ...

decided to set the show in a park, rather than on an urban street. A new half-hour series entitled ''Sesame Park'' was born. The series premiered in September 1996. It joined the CBC Playground lineup on October 21, along with ''

Wimzie's House ''Wimzie's House'' is a Canadian children's television series produced in Montreal which ran in the French language as ''La Maison de Ouimzie'' on Télévision de Radio-Canada in the morning and Radio-Québec in late afternoons beginning Septem ...

''. The show's animated sequences were created in Toronto, while live-action segments were shot in Regina,

, and

. ''Sesame Park'' was cancelled in 2001 for undisclosed reasons.

Characters

Added to the cast were a

kitten named

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...

(who is similar to

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

, serving the same role, and is named after Golick's own cat), and a human character named Ray. Basil was now played by Bob Stutt. Guest appearances included '' Red Green'', a Canadian situation-comedy character played by Steve Smith,

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian television series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (live-action 2004–2009 and fi ...

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1709. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index numbe ...

, and

Janet-Laine Green Janet-Laine Green (born December 31, 1951) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and teacher, active for over 25 years. Best known for her roles in '' She's the Mayor'', '' Seeing Things'' and '' This is Wonderland'', this Toronto-based film ...

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...

Content

About sixty percent of the new series was produced in Canada, with the remaining forty percent being segments from Children's Television Workshop.

Awards

In 1999, the series received its nomination and win from the

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in th ...

, for Best Preschool Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb). Bob Stutt was nominated that year for Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series. In 2000,

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

won Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series, for her role in an episode of the show, beating out fellow guest star Pier Kohl, as well as others. In 2001, the series won Best Preschool Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb), beating out ''Land O' Hands'' and ''The Nook Counting Network''. Guest

won again for Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series, beating out Pier Kohl, James Rankin, Natasha LaForce and Gisèle Corinthios.

Legacy

As with the original ''Sesame Street'', some segments of ''Canadian Sesame Street'' and ''Sesame Park'' were farmed out to other versions of ''Sesame Street'', in particular, ''

Plaza Sésamo ''Plaza Sésamo'' () is the first Sesame Street international co-productions, international co-production of the Educational television, educational Children's television series, children's television series ''Sesame Street''. Its first season p ...

'', the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n version of ''Sesame Street''. In addition, since the rise of

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

in Canada in the 1970s (and before that for communities close to the US border), the original American ''Sesame Street'' could still be viewed on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

-affiliated stations. ''Sesame Street'' now airs on

Treehouse TV Treehouse TV (commonly known as Treehouse) is a Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary specialty channel that was launched in 1997. Its name comes from sister network YTV (Canadian TV channel), YTV's former programming b ...

, a Canadian channel aimed at preschoolers, with specials airing on the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

, one of Canada’s major terrestrial broadcast networks. Various segments, including '' Global Grover'' and ''

Elmo's World ''Elmo's World'' is a segment that is shown in the American children's television program ''Sesame Street''. It always comes last and premiered on November 16, 1998, as part of a broader structural change to the show. It originally lasted fiftee ...

'', have aired separately on the channel for many years after '' Open Sesame''.

Cast

* Tim Gosley -

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

the

Polar Bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

(1987–1996) * Trish Leeper -

, Barbara Plum * Rob Mills - Dodi (1987–1996), Garth Burmengi * Pier Paquette - Louis the

* Derek Ritschel - Ray * Gord Robertson - Dodi (assistance in flying sequences) * Bob Stutt -

the

(1996–2001) * Karen Valleau -

the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

Noreen Young Noreen Isabel Young (née Brathwaite; 10 May 1939 – 18 April 2025) was a Canadian producer, puppeteer and puppet builder. Life and career Young grew up in Old Ottawa South, Ontario, with her two younger brothers, John and Stephen Brathwaite ...

- Dodi (1996–2001)

References

External links