To celebrate Sesame Street's first Asian American Muppet Ji-Young, various acclaimed Asian and Pacific Islander celebrities will be joining her on television for a special episode.Sesame Workshop revealed the episode, titled See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special, will feature appearances by DC Publisher/Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu, tennis player Naomi Osaka and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, among others. The special's title refers to an original musical number that Ji-Young and the cast will sing as part of a "Neighbor Day" event as Ji-Young copes with racist remarks made during the festival. This ties into Sesame Workshop's ongoing "Coming Together" initiative, which seeks to teach kids about race, culture and racial justice."I am so excited, thrilled and honored to announce that I'll be appearing on [Sesame Street] this Thanksgiving day, welcoming its newest resident, a 7-year-old Korean-American girl named Ji-Young!," Lee wrote, describing the event as "a personal & career high for me—a moment that was both so much fun to be a part of & so moving and emotional when filming came to an end." Liu, whose Shang-Chi film was recently added to Disney+, expressed similar admiration, tweeting, "I've had the privilege of experiencing so many incredible things over the past couple of years, but this definitely sticks out. Welcome to Sesame Street, Ji-Young! I'm so glad I got to hang out with you."
Veteran Sesame Street actor Alan Muraoka, who plays Hooper's Store owner Alan, also commented on the significance of Ji-Young's inclusion. "It's a powerful thing when kids see people like themselves represented on screen and in stories—it supports them as they figure out who they are and who they want to be," Muraoka, who co-directed the special, explained. "We can't wait for families to get to know Ji-Young—in this special and in future seasons of Sesame Street—and celebrate some of the Asian and Pacific Islander people in our neighborhood!"
Ji-Young's arrival comes five months after Sesame Street introduced its first gay married couple in longtime character Nina's brother Dave, who showed up to Family Day with his husband and daughter. Most recently, Sesame Street's educational status came under fire after Big Bird's tweet about getting vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) was criticized by Senator Ted Cruz and other political figures for being "government propaganda" and "Communist." The show's Twitter page dismissed these claims by sharing an old video of Big Bird learning the importance of measles shots back in 1972.
See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special premieres Nov. 25 on HBO Max, PBSKids, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Source: Sesame Workshop, Twitter 1, 2, 3