Roy holds up Esme in a vibrant backyard.

Esme & Roy Season 1

Sesame Workshop’s first new animated program in more than a decade promotes “learning through play” and mindfulness.

Esme and Roy hold their hands up in celebration with their friends.

Press Release

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Sesame Workshop and Nelvana to Debut Original Animated Series “Esme & Roy” on HBO in the U.S. and on Treehouse in Canada, August 18

Sesame Workshop’s first new animated program in more than a decade promotes “learning through play” and mindfulness.

(New York, NY – July 25, 2018)Sesame Workshop and Nelvana announced today that Esme & Roy, the first new animated series from the makers of Sesame Street in more than a decade, will debut on Saturday, August 18 on HBO in the U.S. and on Treehouse in Canada. The program follows a young girl, Esme, and her best monster friend, Roy, on their adventures as the best monster babysitters in Monsterdale. Aimed at children ages four to six, it offers a creative new approach to teaching “learning through play” and mindfulness strategies.

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What’s New

Esme reads a book out loud to Roy and their friends.

About Esme and Roy

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Welcome to the world of Esme & Roy, where playtime is the best time! Following a dynamic pair of monster babysitters – a young girl, Esme, and her monster best friend, Roy – this creative show invites children into a richly textured world of monster fun.

In each episode, Monster Sitters Esme and Roy harness the power of play to help solve their little charges’ monster-sized problems. The countless silly situations the friends get into along the way will have kids laughing as they learn.

Esme and Roy live in bustling Monsterdale, where the colorful streets are always buzzing with monsters of all shapes and sizes. Sharp-eyed viewers will notice that homes in Monsterdale reflect the monsters who live in them: flying monsters live in homes like Victorian birdcages, while aquatic monsters live in houses shaped like giant fishbowls. A little house in Esme’s backyard serves as Monster Sitters’ HQ, complete with a comfy chair for Roy and a habitat for his monster pet, Dumpling.

Esme and Roy, dressed as pirates, do a jig with their friends.

Curriculum

With loveable characters who spark strong emotional connections among preschoolers and parents alike, Esme & Roy invites children into a colorful world where even the littlest monsters can overcome big challenges together. Esme & Roy uses the power of play to help younger monsters through familiar situations like trying new foods, or feeling frustration with a sibling. Children will look up to their new favorite monster-sitters as positive role models, learning how to manage strong emotions with simple mindfulness practices alongside Esme and Roy’s charges.

Learning Through Play

Esme & Roy’s primary education goal is to model how children learn best through play, fostering a range of play patterns using everyday objects to extend learning across content areas. When children play, they are:

As play guides, Esme and Roy set up different types of play to solve problems and help the little monsters learn a range of lessons while keeping their interest through play.

Mindfulness

The secondary education goal of Esme & Roy is to model strategies to help children manage their emotions. When the little monsters experience big feelings like worry, frustration, or fear, the Monster Sitters use an array of calm-down strategies to help them regulate their emotions so they are ready for playtime.

These simple strategies include:

…and they’re easily repeatable at home, even for very young viewers.

Episode Descriptions

People In Your Neighborhood

Talent Bios

Millie Davis

“Esme”

Davis is a Canadian actress who is best known for her roles as “Ms. O” in the PBS Kids series Odd Squad, “Summer” in the film Wonder, and “Gemma Hendrix” in the series Orphan Black.

Patrick McKenna

“Roy”

McKenna began his acting career with Toronto’s famous Second City Theatre Company.  He then took to the road as a stand-up comedian, headlining at universities and clubs throughout North America, including opening for both Dionne Warwick and Smokey Robinson.

McKenna appeared on television in the Red Green Show for fifteen seasons as the loveable, nerdy, techno-geek, Harold, while simultaneously performing in five seasons of the acclaimed dramatic series, Traders. For this work, McKenna earned two Gemini awards for “Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedic Series” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series” in the same year.

Currently, McKenna co-stars in two hospital series: Hard Rock Medical for TVO and APTN, and Global Television’s newest drama, Remedy. With any remaining free time, McKenna continues to guest-star in dramatic and comedic series from Murdoch Mysteries to The Mercer Report, and has recently entered the world of cartoons, lending his voice to no less than five regular animated series.

Next, you can see McKenna star in the soon-to-be-released feature films, A Masked Saint and Margarita.

Production Bios

Kay Wilson Stallings – Senior Vice President, Creative Development, Sesame Workshop

As Sesame Workshop’s Senior Vice President, Creative Development, Stallings oversees global creative development and pilot production of all original Sesame content for multiple platforms. She also explores new production models and partnerships to develop new programs, processes and talent for the creative group.

In 2017, Stallings created and directed the first annual Sesame Street Writers’ Room, an intensive eight-week competitive fellowship dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and increasing diverse voices in children’s media. Held at Sesame Workshop’s New York City office, the fellowship offers seven to ten emerging writers from underrepresented racial backgrounds the chance to hone original scripts while meeting with industry writers, producers, agents, and executives; one to two winning fellows per year have a chance at creative development deals from Sesame Workshop.

Prior to joining Sesame Workshop, Stallings was Senior Vice President of Production and Development at Nickelodeon. In her 16 years with the company, she oversaw development of all original series production for Nickelodeon Preschool and Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s digital channel, including pre-buys, acquisitions, and the global shorts programs. Stallings developed more than 20 series while at Nickelodeon including Wonder Pets, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Fresh Beat Band, Shimmer and Shine, and Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Stallings holds a Master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor’s degree from Mac Murray College.

Dustin Ferrer – Co-Creator & Co-Executive Producer, Esme & Roy

Ferrer is a two-time Emmy Award-winning writer for Peg + Cat; she has also been nominated three times for her work on Wonder Pets and 3rd and Bird! Ferrer worked as a story editor at Nickelodeon’s Shimmer and Shine and has written for many preschool programs including Muppet Babies, Team Umizoomi, Bubbleguppies, Miles from Tomorrowland, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Wallykazam.

Amy Steinberg – Co-Creator & Co-Executive Producer, Esme & Roy

Steinberg got her start at Nickelodeon, where she was a producer on Blue’s Clues and Team Umizoomi. In addition to Esme & Roy, Steinberg co-created Chickiepoo and Fluff: Barnyard Detectives (Nickelodeon) and Words with Puffballs (Sesame Studios). She has also worked as a producer of preschool content at Scholastic and Sockeye Media.

Producer & Distributor Information

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically-funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve.

Esme and Roy back to back smiling.
Where to Watch
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Simon and Tillie smile and look up at Esme.
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