25 classic Sesame Street skits that parents and kids will botn enjoy

After HBO dumped Sesame Street at the end of 2024, the educational series has been collecting so many new homes that even The Count can barely keep track. In addition to new episodes airing on Netflix and PBS, YouTube signed a deal with Sesame Workshop to air classic episodes. And now, Tubi is also getting in on the action with a deal that includes 250 classic episodes from seasons 1 through 38 (or 1969 through 2007).

The aim for the series’ existence on Tubi isn’t just aimed at children, as a Tubi spokesperson invited parents to “share a piece of their own childhood with the next generation” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. But I’d argue there’s more to classic Sesame Street than just nostalgia, as many of the classic segments are just genuinely funny, sharply-written comedy sketches that still hold up today. While there are literally hundreds of these from the show’s more than 4,700 episodes, I’ve picked out 25 classic bits in celebration of the 250 episodes coming to Tubi.

25

Grover the weather salesman

This 1976 segment features Grover as a door to door salesman and Kermit as his potential customer. As with much of the best stuff from the first 20 years of Sesame Street, it’s a perfect showcase for the comedy duo that was Jim Henson (Kermit) and Frank Oz (Grover).

Season 7, episode 0848

24

“Dance Myself to Sleep”

Of course, Henson and Oz’s best Sesame Street duo was when they played best pals Ernie and Bert. While Ernie and Bert are obviously BFF’s, most of their comedy comes from Ernie annoying the crap out of Bert, which he never did better than in this 1981 musical number where Ernie puts on a musical riot as Bert is just trying to get some shut-eye.

Season 13, episode 1705

23

Monsterpiece Theater: “Twin Beaks”

Cookie Monster is probably the most purely funny character on Sesame Street and he was always in top comedic form when he was putting on airs as the sophisticated Alistair Cookie, the satin-robe wearing host of “Monsterpiece Theater.” This recurring segment always featured a pop culture parody — usually one that kids could never hope to understand — like this 1991 spoof on David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.

Season 22, episode 2822

22

What’s inside Herry?

The furry-browed Herry Monster was a staple for the first few decades of Sesame Street before he was sidelined by more cuddly characters, but there are plenty of classic moments with him. For example, there’s this 1984 sketch where Kermit uses an X-ray machine to show off Herry’s inner anatomy. The best part comes when Herry can’t help but admire his own muscles.

Season 16, episode 1974

21

Prairie Dawn eats the letter H

In the early 2000s, a recurring series featured Prairie Dawn and Cookie Monster presenting the letter of the day. They always ended with Cookie Monster eating the letter, much to Prairie Dawn’s dismay. The sketches were great for how annoyed Prairie Dawn got, but the comedy reached new heights when they presented the letter H. In this one, Prairie is so sure Cookie Monster is going to eat the letter, she begins to argue with him about it. She even does a mocking impression of Cookie Monster that she takes so far the pink little girl Muppet ends up eating the letter H herself.

Season 33, episode 4001

20

The Two-Headed Monster and the pillow

There are a lot of monsters on Sesame Street, though none are as wild as the Two-Headed Monster, a purple, gibberish-speaking creature with two horned heads on its body. The best sketches with this character involve the two heads arguing with each other, like when they fought over a pillow in 1982.

Season 13, episode 1669

19

Elmo vs. Gladys the cow

This one from 1985 features Elmo pissing off Gladys, the self-important cow, with his cow impression. The best joke comes when Elmo says he gives milk.

Season 17, episode 2176

18

Lefty tries to sell Ernie an 8

Lefty is the kind of Sesame Street character that would never make the cut nowadays, but back in 1970 it was totally fine — and totally hilarious — to have a shady salesman Muppet looking to covertly sell Ernie the number 8.

Season 1, episode 0079

17

Grover serves Mr. Johnson a big burger

One of the best recurring sketches in Sesame Street’s early years features Grover as a grossly incompetent waiter and Mr. Johnson (the bald, mustachioed blue guy) as his put-upon customer. They’re all pretty funny, but the best might be this one from 1974 where poor Mr. Johnson tries to order a hamburger, only to get ones that are ridiculous sizes.

Season 6, episode 0705

16

Kermit, Cookie Monster and the mystery box

Cookie Monster’s famous singlemindedness is on full display in this 1987 sketch where Kermit gives him clues to guess what’s in a mystery box. Kermit repeatedly makes clear that the box does not contain a cookie, but Cookie Monster isn’t really good at guessing anything that’s not cookie-related.

Season 18, episode 2307