101 Best Written TV Series

Aired: PBS, 1969-Present

Simply put, the show's continual inventiveness and impact as an educational tool forged via the runaway popularity of the Muppets changed the landscape of children's television. Joan Ganz Cooney was a children's television producer in New York City when, with government funding, she founded the Children's Television Workshop. Sesame Street was born of her belief that kids programming ought to be more forward-thinking and fun. "I wanted this show to jump and move fast and feel and sound like 1969, because kids are turned on visually!" Cooney is quoted as saying on the show's website. Cooney's creative team included Frank Oz, Jon Stone (a former producer on Captain Kangaroo who became the show's first head writer), and the master puppeteer Jim Henson. Sesame Street, when it debuted, was banned from the air in Mississippi due to its interracial cast.

Credited Writers

Gary Belkin
Lou Berger
Molly Boylan
Sarah Compton
Joan Ganz Cooney
Tony DeSena
John Dilworth
Tom Dunsmuir
Annie Evans
Chrissy Ferraro
Judy Freudberg
Bruce Hart
Carole Hart
Jim Henson
Tony Geiss
Ian Ellis James
Jerry Juhl
Emily Perl Kingsley
David Korr
Steve Lookner
Sonia Manzano
Richard Marcus
Joey Mazzarino
Michael C. McCarthy
Jeff Moss
Edith Rey
Lynn Rogoff
Adam Rudman
Eva Saks
Mark Saltzman
Nancy Sans
Luis Santeiro
Josh Selig
Norman Stiles
P. Kevin Strader
Cathi Turow
Belinda Ward
John Weidman
Mo Willems