New Books in Communications Tamara Kay, "Sesame Street Around the World: Culture, Politics, and Transnational Organizational Partnerships" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Mar 7, 2026
Tamara Kay, sociologist and author who spent seven years embedded with Sesame Workshop, discusses how a US cultural icon becomes local around the world. She outlines the coproduction process, the phases of disassembly and reconstitution, and which elements can be adapted versus held constant. She also covers navigating sensitive topics, managing conflicts, and building lasting transnational partnerships.
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Sesame Uses Transnational Co-Production
- Sesame Workshop builds each international show as a transnational co-production team rather than exporting a finished product.
- Mexican producers, writers, artists, and educational experts jointly design curriculum with New York coaching during the first season.
Three Stage Process Creates Hybrid Local Shows
- Co-production follows three stages: disassembly, reconstitution, and dissemination to create a hybrid local Sesame program.
- Disassembly shares product knowledge; reconstitution customizes curriculum; dissemination uses local alliances and outreach projects.
Flexible Content With Fixed Values
- Most content is highly flexible but core socio-emotional values are nonnegotiable: no violence, racism, sexism and promotion of tolerance.
- Programs must look Sesame-like and often use Sesame-branded marketing while adapting characters and curriculum locally.
