Elmo, ever the trendsetter, was doing the whole at-home talk-show thing before it was cool. Now, he’s tricycling into another undervalued television space: the not-too-late-night-talk-show game. The lovable, furry Vulture contributor is branching out from Sesame Street into HBO’s new streaming service, HBO Max, with his own family-friendly talk show, The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo, “because Elmo’s bedtime is 7:30.†The trailer does not say how frequently episodes will air, only that the show will premiere with HBO Max’s launch on May 27, and that it looks positively delightful. Elmo’s celebrity guest list reads like an actual child got a job as a late-night booker: the Jonas Brothers, Blake Lively, Oscar the Grouch, Jimmy Fallon, Batman, and Ben Platt. John Mulaney appears to be accosted by Muppet sheep. Cookie Monster tells off Jason Sudeikis for “cookie-splaining.†Kacey Musgraves sings “Rubber Duckie.†Bert’s in the control room, which totally checks out. This looks like it could be the glossy, kid-friendly Muppet Show for our times, when most segment-stuffed late-night shows run like variety shows anyway. Between The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo and the entire Studio Ghibli film library, HBO Max is shaping up to be the thinking man’s streaming service for family entertainment (sorry, Olaf).
Elmo Is About to Make Late-Night Shows 4,000 Percent More Adorable
