Takalani Sesame | |
---|---|
Created by | Joan Ganz Cooney |
Based on | |
Developed by | |
Country of origin | South Africa |
Production | |
Executive producer | Seipati Bulane-Hopa |
Producer | Pulane Boesak |
Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | SABC 2 |
Release | 7 August 2000 – present |
Takalani Sesame ("be happy Sesame" in Venda) is the South African co-production of the children's television program Sesame Street , co-produced by Sesame Workshop and South African partners. The series debuted in 2000 and currently airs on SABC 2. [1] [2]
According to Sesame Workshop, Takalani Sesame is a "uniquely South African interpretation of the Sesame model, engaging children and their parents and promoting basic school readiness, literacy, numeracy, and health and hygiene." Takalani Sesame also has a special focus on HIV/AIDS awareness and seeks to introduce HIV/AIDS safety while promoting tolerance and reducing stigma. The Takalani series also includes a popular radio program, a newspaper and magazine comic strip series, and a national campaign which encourages adults to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS and related issues.
The show incorporates 11 of South Africa's 12 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, Sesotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana and TshiVenda.
The series features a number of muppet characters. [1] Kami, an HIV-positive five-year old muppet, joined the show in its second season in 2002. [1] [3] [4]
Basma and Jad, who both originated on Ahlan Simsim , debuted on Takalani in its eleventh season. [1] [5]
Other muppet characters include Elmo, Grover, Kupukeji, Moshe, Zikwe, and Zuzu. [1]
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, and Nane Annan have made guest appearances on the show.
Season 13 featured guest appearances from celebrities like Jason and Nicholas Goliath, David Kau, Sho Madjozi and Holly Rey. [5] [6]
Season 11 of the show aired from 1 June 2020-27 November 2020 on South African television channel SABC 2.
Season 12 played from 7 June 2021 to 3 December 2021 at 15:30 weekdays on SABC 2. Season 12 aired weekdays at 07:00 on SABC 1. Season 12 repeated Mondays & Saturdays at 05:00 & Mondays at 16:30 on S3.
Season 13 started on 6 June 2022-2 December 2022 on SABC 2 at 15:30 and ran for 130 episodes. Season 14 aired weekdays on SABC 2 at 15:30 from 5 June 2023-2 December and ran for 130 episodes. Season 15 currently airs on Sabc2 weekdays at 15:00.
In late 2022 the program was nominated for an Annual Kidscreen Award in the Preschool Programming category. [2] [7]
In September 2024, the program was nominated for an International Emmy Award in the Kids Factual category for The Takalani SesameBig Feelings special. [8]
The introduction of an HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS was widely criticised by the U.S. political right, with such groups as the American Family Association seeing it as a means for HIV activists to influence young viewers. [9]
Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service (HBO) Max in 2020.
Elmo is a red 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 five-minute segment on Sesame Street, "Elmo's World", which is aimed at toddlers. He was originally performed by Kevin Clash. Following Clash's resignation in late 2012, Elmo has been performed by Ryan Dillon.
The preschool educational television program Sesame Street was first aired on public television stations on November 10, 1969, and reached its 54th season in 2023. The history of Sesame Street has reflected changing attitudes to developmental psychology, early childhood education, and cultural diversity. Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, live shorts, humor and celebrity appearances, it was the first television program of its kind to base its content and production values on laboratory and formative research, and the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes". Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy and high ratings. By its 40th anniversary in 2009, Sesame Street was broadcast in over 120 countries, and 20 independent international versions had been produced. It has won eleven Grammys and over 150 Emmys in its history—more than any other children's show.
SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
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Kathryn Mullen is an American puppeteer, actress, and voice actress most closely associated with Jim Henson projects.
Kami is a character on Takalani Sesame and Sesame Square, the respective South African and Nigerian versions of the children's television program Sesame Street.
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Sesame Street international co-productions are adaptations of the American educational children's television series Sesame Street but tailored to the countries in which they are produced. Shortly after the debut of Sesame Street in the United States in 1969, television producers, teachers, and officials of several countries approached the show's producers and the executives of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), renamed Sesame Workshop (SW) in 2000, about the possibility of airing international versions of Sesame Street. Creator Joan Ganz Cooney hired former CBS executive Michael Dann to field offers to produce versions of the show in other countries.
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A wide variety of characters have appeared on the American children's television series Sesame Street. Many of the characters are Muppets, which are puppets made in Jim Henson's distinctive puppet-creation style. Most of the non-Muppet characters are human characters, but there are many characters that are animated.
Sesame Square is the Nigerian version of Sesame Street. It launched in 2011 as West Africa's first Sesame Street adaptation. Nigerians produce and voice the series in Standard English. It airs on the Nigerian Television Authority network.
The children's television program Sesame Street premiered in 1969 to high ratings, positive reviews, and some controversy, which have continued during its history. Even though the show aired on only 67% of American televisions at the time of its premiere, it earned a 3.3 Nielsen rating, or 1.9 million households. By its tenth anniversary in 1979, 9 million American children under the age of six were watching Sesame Street daily. Its ratings declined in the 1990s, due to societal changes. A survey conducted in 1996 found that by the age of three, 95% of all American children had watched it. By its fortieth anniversary in 2009, it was ranked the fifteenth most popular children's show.
Rechov Sumsum is the Israeli adaptation of the U.S. children's show of the same name.
This is a list of South African television-related events in 2015.
Kilimani Sesame is the Tanzanian version of Sesame Street. The show airs on Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) and Television Zanzibar (TVZ). The production was launched in April 2008. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored the production.
Noggin was an American edutainment brand that launched on February 2, 1999. It was co-founded by MTV Networks and Sesame Workshop. It started out as a cable television channel and a website, both centered around the concepts of imagination, creativity, and education. From 2015 to 2024, Noggin was a streaming service.
Ahlan Simsim is an Arabic language co-production of Sesame Street that premiered on 2 February 2020 on MBC 3. The show is the spiritual successor to Iftah Ya Simsim, a Kuwaiti production that ran from 1979 to 1990 and aired in multiple Arabic-speaking countries. The show also shares a name and its characters with an initiative to provide education for displaced Syrian children.