The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is an American late-night talk show hosted by Elmo.[1] It is a spin-off of Sesame Street and was developed exclusively for the HBO Max streaming service. The series, consisting of 13 episodes, debuted on HBO Max on May 27, 2020. The first three episodes were available at launch, after which new episodes were premiered weekly.[2] Each episode runs for 15 minutes.[3]
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Based on | Sesame Street by Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett |
Starring | Ryan Dillon David Rudman Jennifer Barnhart Peter Linz Eric Jacobson Stephanie D'Abruzzo Matt Vogel |
Opening theme | "It's Elmo" by Mama Bear and the Monsters |
Ending theme | "Night-Night (aka. Elmo's Goodnight Lullaby)" by Elmo |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Running time | 15 minutes |
Production company(s) | Sesame Workshop |
Distributor | Sesame Workshop |
Release | |
Original network | HBO Max |
Original release | May 27, 2020 – present |
External links | |
HBO Max |
Premise
The host of the late-night talk show series is the Muppet character Elmo. The program's main curricular goals are centered around children's bedtime routines, of which each episode demonstrates a different aspect.[2]
Cast and characters
- Ryan Dillon as Elmo[4]
- David Rudman as Cookie Monster,[4] Baby Bear, Sully, Two-Headed Monster (right head)
- Jennifer Barnhart as Mama Bear,[4] Zoe
- Peter Linz as Ernie,[4] Herry Monster
- Eric Jacobson as Bert, Grover,[4] Oscar, Two-Headed Monster (left head)
- Carmen Osbahr as Rosita, Ovejita
- Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Abby Cadabby
- Frankie Cordero as Rudy
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Prairie Dawn,[4] Mae (Elmo's mom)
- Matt Vogel as Big Bird, The Count,[4] Biff
- Tyler Bunch as Louie (Elmo's dad)
- Martin P. Robinson as Telly Monster, Freddy (Rudy's dad)
- Pam Arciero
- John Kennedy
Episodes
Season 1 (2020-present)
No. | Guest | Musical guest | Original release date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmy Fallon | Kacey Musgraves | May 27, 2020 | |
Before bedtime, Elmo takes on the role of talk show host. For his first episode, Elmo's guests are Jimmy Fallon and Kacey Musgraves, who sings a Sesame Street classic song. | ||||
2 | Jonas Brothers | Jonas Brothers | May 27, 2020 | |
The Jonas Brothers drop by Elmo's show to compete in a Silly Freeze Dance contest and sing a song about tooth-brushing. Abby Cadabby's magical fix causes havoc in the control room for Bert and Ernie. | ||||
3 | John Mulaney | Lil Nas X | May 27, 2020 | |
Elmo looks inside some goody bags before challenging guest John Mulaney to a nail-biting tricycle race and dueting with Lil Nas X. Ernie leads a backstage tour in the middle of the show and Cookie Monster gets a special visitor. | ||||
4 | Batman | Pentatonix | June 4, 2020 | |
Batman plays a game of Beach Ball Ballyhoo with Elmo until the Bat Signal appears on the curtain. In search of a perfect bedtime story, Elmo welcomes acapella group Pentatonix, who perform a mashup of lullabies. Rosita looks for three sheep so she can tell her favorite bedtime tale and sings a goodnight song. | ||||
5 | Nature Nick | Jordin Sparks | June 11, 2020 | |
Trainer Nature Nick brings some animal friends on-set to help teach Elmo about nocturnal creatures. Jordin Sparks sings one of her favorite childhood songs and shares her favorite thing about night-time. Correspondent Grover goes to Sesame Street to investigate whether the sun should be in bed and to investigate whether it is night. | ||||
6 | Miles Brown | The Joyous String Ensemble | June 18, 2020 | |
Elmo competes in a nursery rhyme rap battle with Miles Brown and the Joyous String Ensemble play a medley of familiar tunes. Cookie Monster babysits his little niece, who runs around the studio before her bedtime. | ||||
7 | Blake Lively | Dan + Shay | June 25, 2020 | |
Elmo and Cookie Monster talk about weird dreams before Blake Lively returns to Sesame Street for a game of "Cookie Monster Says". Dan + Shay perform "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon". Oscar the Grouch prepares to get his chance in the spotlight for "Trash Talk". | ||||
8 | John Oliver/Kwame Alexander | Sofia Carson | July 2, 2020 | |
Elmo finds out which animal John Oliver would be and they compete in the world's slowest and most dramatic race. Sofia Carson sings a lullaby and Kwame Alexander recites an impromptu poem about Elmo. | ||||
9 | Hoda Kotb | Ben Platt | July 9, 2020 | |
Elmo learns about Hoda Kotb's morning routine and challenging her to a game of "Hot potato". Ben Platt sings Cookie Monster a song about cookies. Grover offers to pack Elmo's backpack for school. | ||||
10 | Mykal-Michelle Harris/Jonathan Van Ness | H.E.R | July 16, 2020 | |
Elmo brings in "monster makeover specialist" Jonathan Van Ness to unleash the gorgeous monster inside Sesame Streeter Alan (Alan Muraoka), before Elmo and Cookie unveil hair and makeup transformations of their own. Mykal-Michelle Harris gives hosting a whirl and faces off with Elmo in a "No Laugh Challenge," and H.E.R. performs a song about her beautiful, versatile hair. | ||||
11 | Andy Cohen | Josh Groban | July 23, 2020 | |
It's time for Elmo's show, but his first guest, Grover is nowhere to be found! Not to worry, Andy Cohen steps in to do his best impression of the MIA monster, while Josh Groban takes Oscar's lead in singing a "trashy" refrain. | ||||
12 | Olivia Wilde | Sara Bareilles | July 30, 2020 | |
The Count helps Elmo keep an eye on the clock in preparation for jammie time. Elmo welcomes Olivia Wilde for a game of "Teddy Bear Dress Up." Musical guest Sara Bareilles brings out two of her besties (Mona Tavakoli and Choska Potter) -- plus an extra special Sesame Street friend -- to help her perform her very own version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." | ||||
13 | Jason Sudeikis | Ciara | August 6, 2020 | |
Elmo isn't shy about an important part of his bedtime routine: potty time! After he challenges Jason Sudeikis to a round of the "Silly Dance Game," Ciara stops by to share an inspiring musical message. Meanwhile, Grover shakes things up as he plays usher. |
Production
The pilot show was directed by Benjamin Lehmann and was produced in January 2019,[5][6] and features special guest Kacey Musgraves performing "Rubber Duckie".[7] Full production of the series took place in November and December 2019.[8]
In addition to Musgraves, confirmed guests were Jimmy Fallon, the Jonas Brothers, John Oliver, an uncredited actor portraying Batman, Jason Sudeikis, Kwame Alexander, Sara Bareilles, Miles Brown, Ciara, Andy Cohen, Dan + Shay, Josh Groban, Mykal-Michelle Harris, H.E.R., Hoda Kotb, Lil Nas X, Blake Lively, John Mulaney, Pentatonix, Ben Platt, Jonathan Van Ness, Olivia Wilde, and Sofia Carson.[9][10]
Reception
The Not Too Late Show with Elmo received positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season of the show an 80% "fresh" rating based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 7/10. The critical consensus is: "With great guests, fun games, and a lot of silly songs, The Not Too Late Show with Elmo is a fitting bedtime show for tots that parents may even enjoy as well".[11] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100, assigned a rating score of 70 based on 8 critic reviews, meaning favorable reviews for the first season.[12]
The show has been reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Week, and Comic Book Resources among others.[13][14][15][16]
References
Some content in this article was copied from the Muppet Wiki, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.
- "'Sesame Street' star Elmo to interview celebrities on his own 'Not Too Late' talk show". USA TODAY.
- "Sesame Workshop to debut 'The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo' on HBO MAX on Tuesday, May 27, 2020 | Sesame Workshop". www.sesameworkshop.org.
- "Muppet Elmo readies for his own starry HBO Max talk show". AP NEWS. May 14, 2020.
- Adams, Erik (May 19, 2020). "The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo is the next best thing to a streaming Muppet Show". The AV Club. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- "Sesame Street Art Department on Instagram: "Busy day with so many details to sort out and so little time. . . #sesame50 #sesamestreet #productiondesign #scenicdesign…"". Instagram.
- "K A C E Y M U S G R A V E S on Instagram: "Made a new BFF today ❤️ Can't wait for this to come out!"". Instagram.
- Today: The man behind new ‘Sesame Street’ songs feels a ‘responsibility’ toward kids, March 3, 2019.
- "what has Stephanie been doing?". www.stephaniedabruzzo.com.
- "Sara Bareilles on Instagram: "Had a bit of a day. So special to be around this biggest bird...especially this week...thinking of his origins and his legacy...and sharing…"". Instagram.
- "Official Trailer".
- "The Not Too Late Show with Elmo: Season 1" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- "The Not Too Late Show with Elmo" – via www.metacritic.com.
- "'The Not Too Late Show With Elmo' : TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- Framke, Caroline; Framke, Caroline (May 18, 2020). "'The Not Too Late Show With Elmo' on HBO Max: TV Review".
- "The Not Too Late Show with Elmo is pure Sesame Street gold". theweek.com. May 27, 2020.
- "The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo Is EXACTLY What We Need Right Now". CBR. May 30, 2020.