Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group behind the children’s television program, has struck a deal with HBO, the premium cable network, that will bring the next five seasons of Sesame Street to HBO and its streaming outlets starting this fall.

– NY Times, August 13, 2015

Title card:

Coming This Fall.
From the Producers of Deadwood and
The Creative Team that brought you The Alphabet…

Scene:

Night. An abandoned street, replete with broken windows and graffiti-covered walls. Empty bottles and drug paraphernalia litter the pavement. A streetlight flickers. The camera settles on a dented trashcan, toppled over, garbage spilling onto the sidewalk. We hear footsteps approaching, and see two spiky-haired silhouettes enter the frame.

“Hey, buddy – things sure have changed since we left the old neighborhood.”

“Shut up, Ernie. We’re here for one reason, to collect the letters we left behind. Then we’re outta here.”

“And my rubber duckie, Bert.”

“And your fucking duckie, Ernie.”

The trash can wobbles. We see the faint glow of half-pingpong ball eyes within.

“I’m scared, Bert.”

“You should be, Ernie.”

Suddenly, an explosion of trash and the sound of gunfire. The streetlight explodes in a shower of sparks and shattered glass. As the smoke clears and our eyes adjust, we see Oscar the Grouch holding an AK-47 semi-automatic (this episode is sponsored by the letter ‘A’ and the National Rifle Association.) Oscar looks like shit.

“Come with me if you want to spell.”

Close-up on Oscar’s green, mangy face. A flash of lightning and deafening thundercrack. Cut to black.