The ongoing coronavirus pandemic can be a frightening and disorienting time for young children. As a way to provide young kids with a break from the anxiety, Sesame Street will have a “Playdate” special that will air on multiple networks.
Deadline reports that the half-hour special will be called “Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate” and will air on Apr. 14. Channels that will air it include Boomerang, Cartoon Network, truTV, TNT, TBS, HBO Latino, HBO, and PBS Kids. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia will also air the special on a later date.
According to Billboard, the special’s celebrity guests are Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Elmo, who will be hosting the special, will be joined by Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, and Grover.
Some of the activities lined up for the special include the Muppets baking cookies, dancing, and singing. Healthcare workers like doctors and EMTs will also be highlighted during the episode, with the Muppets learning about what these workers do during this pandemic.
Meanwhile, the celebrity guests will sing and play with the Muppet cast. Hathaway and Elmo will perform “Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes” while “Old McDonald Had a Farm” will be performed by Miranda. Ross will be playing “Elmo Says.”
According to WarnerMedia Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, the special aims to bring families together and make them laugh and provide them with some relief during this time.
“Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate” is another effort by the entertainment industry to provide some levity as well as some aid to the world as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Previously, Academy Award-winning musician Elton John hosted a fundraising special that featured artists like H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, and Mariah Carey.
The Elton John special, “Living Room Concert for America,” ended up raising millions for the fight against coronavirus. The $8 million it raised for beneficiaries Feeding America and the First Responders Children’s Foundation also resulted in a commitment from YouTube to make a donation to the two groups.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world only continues to rise. According to the World Health Organization situation report dated Apr. 8, there have been 73,639 new cases added, bringing the global total to 1,353,361 confirmed coronavirus cases. The number of deaths is now at 79,235, with the new deaths at 6,695.
In the United States, the Apr. 8 update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the number of COVID-19 cases at 395,011. There have now been 12,754 deaths caused by the coronavirus.