Street Gang Trailer: The Sesame Street Documentary Heads To HBO Max

"Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street" first premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival all the way back in January. Releasing to critical acclaim — you can read /Film's review by Ethan Anderton here — the documentary special focuses specifically on the makings of "Sesame Street" and charts an inside look at all facets of the seminal children's production. More than simply a time-filling program to keep kids occupied during the day, the creators and crew went above and beyond to provide an educational and diverse look at the world, crafting indelible puppet characters and going out of their way to teach important lessons that cemented the legacies of figures such as Jim Henson and Frank Oz (among many, many others). This newest trailer for "Street Gang" puts that celebrated history right at the forefront of the footage, which you can watch below.

After the similarly-themed documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" caused me to viscerally revert back to my childhood memories, "Ratatouille"-style, of watching "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," I'm fully prepared for "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street" to affect me in much the same way. Countless children and multiple generations can all claim to have had some portion of their upbringing defined by the classic show, urging us to learn about the world at large through watching Big Bird and Bert and Ernie on their television screens. Though "Sesame Street" has been the subject of several documentaries in the past, "Street Gang" will attempt to bring to light the initial steps that the creators took to bring the program to the airwaves and, with no hyperbole whatsoever, change the world forever.

Directed by Marilyn Agrelo ("Mad Hot Ballroom"), the documentary is described as "...a rare window into the early days of 'Sesame Street,' revealing the creators, artists, writers and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children's programs in television history. The documentary focuses on the first two experimental and groundbreaking decades of 'Sesame Street,' highlighting this visionary 'gang' that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and engaged children in ways that entertained and educated in new and innovative ways."

In addition to the trailer, HBO revealed that "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street" will debut on HBO on Monday, December 13, 2021 and that it will subsequently be made available on the HBO Max streaming service.