Trystan Casey
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop, which also produced Sesame Street. The Electric Company was created following the success of Sesame Street and was aimed at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. The show featured sketch comedy, psychedelic graphics, creative animation, and over-the-top characters to entertain and educate its young audience. The Electric Company aired from 1971 to 1977, with reruns continuing until 1985, and a reboot of the series aired from 2009 to 2014.
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What You'll Learn
- The Electric Company was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) — the same producers behind Sesame Street
- The Electric Company was aimed at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read
- Sesame Street characters like Grover, Bert, and Cookie Monster made cameo appearances on The Electric Company
- The Electric Company was cancelled in 1977 due to limited funding, despite being at the height of its popularity
- The Electric Company won two Emmys and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the United States
The Electric Company was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) — the same producers behind Sesame Street
The Electric Company was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as the Sesame Workshop. The CTW was also behind the production of Sesame Street.
The Electric Company was a live-action series that first aired in 1971, two years after Sesame Street debuted. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The show was intended for elementary school children who had outgrown Sesame Street but still needed help with reading. The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and other devices to provide an entertaining program to help children develop their grammar and reading skills.
The Electric Company featured psychedelic graphics, wildly creative animation, mod outfits, and over-the-top characters. It won two Emmys, aired on more than 250 public TV stations, and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the United States. The show's cast included Academy Award winner Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and a then-unknown Morgan Freeman.
Despite its success, The Electric Company was canceled in 1977 due to funding limitations. Sesame Street, on the other hand, was a cash fountain for the CTW due to its successful merchandising of Muppet characters. The Electric Company never had a stand-alone brand or character that could have generated significant additional profits.
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The Electric Company was aimed at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The series aired on PBS from 1971 to 1977, with reruns continuing until 1985. The Electric Company was aimed at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. While Sesame Street targeted preschool children and covered a broad range of topics such as letter and number recognition, shapes, and abstract ideas, The Electric Company focused on teaching reading skills to older children, specifically those in the second grade and third grade.
The show employed sketch comedy, psychedelic graphics, creative animation, and catchy music to engage its audience and make learning fun. It featured a diverse cast, including Academy Award winner Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and a young Morgan Freeman. The Electric Company was considered a success, and according to a 1977 report by the Educational Testing Service, it had a significant impact on its target audience, helping those who were struggling with reading.
The Electric Company was designed to address the issue of illiteracy among older children. According to a CTW report, government estimates showed that illiteracy was an issue for a significant number of Americans, and millions more were considered functional illiterates. Joan Ganz Cooney, CTW's president, explained that the project was requested by the U.S. Office of Education's "Right to Read" campaign, which sought to achieve universal literacy in the 1970s. The show's creators spent 18 months researching and developing the program before it aired, a rarity for educational television shows at the time.
Despite its success, The Electric Company faced challenges. It did not have the same merchandising opportunities as Sesame Street, which generated revenue through licensing its Muppet characters. Additionally, there were complaints from PBS stations about the high cost of producing the show. Ultimately, The Electric Company was cancelled in 1977, and Sesame Street continued as the more profitable venture for CTW. However, The Electric Company left a lasting impact and is remembered as a unique and innovative educational program.
In 2009, a reboot of The Electric Company aired on PBS Kids Go!, aiming to teach vocabulary and literacy skills to a new generation of children. This version featured similar elements to the original series, including short animations, sketches, and music, while also incorporating interactive web elements and community outreach projects. The reboot ran until 2011, with reruns continuing on various channels until 2020.
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Sesame Street characters like Grover, Bert, and Cookie Monster made cameo appearances on The Electric Company
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), which later became known as Sesame Workshop. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett and aired on PBS from 1971 to 1977. The Electric Company was developed by Sesame alumni, including Dave Connell, and was intended for children who had outgrown CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street.
Given the overlap in production and target audience, it is not surprising that Sesame Street characters like Grover, Bert, and Cookie Monster made cameo appearances on The Electric Company. Grover, a dark-furred monster who first appeared in the first season of Sesame Street, made several appearances on The Electric Company, including in the third season. In one episode, Grover is ecstatic when a diner owner asks him if he'd like to see a menu instead of finding out how to get to Sesame Street. In another episode, a clip from Grover's appearance is included in a retrospective of the series, The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits.
Bert and Cookie Monster also made cameo appearances in The Electric Company. In addition, other Sesame Street characters such as Big Bird, Oscar, and Easy Reader appeared in The Electric Company. In one instance, Big Bird and Easy Reader appeared in a spot for Nashville Public Television in 1973. Furthermore, the cast of The Electric Company joined the Sesame Street Muppets in the prime-time special Out to Lunch in 1974.
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The Electric Company was cancelled in 1977 due to limited funding, despite being at the height of its popularity
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The series aired on PBS for 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971, to April 15, 1977. The Electric Company was intended for children who had outgrown CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street, and thus, the humor was more mature. The show employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills.
Despite being a success, The Electric Company was cancelled in 1977 due to limited funding. According to veteran television producer Samuel Gibbon, who worked on the show, the PBS stations and statewide networks that aired the show often complained that the Children's Television Workshop was "soaking up so much money in public television." The Electric Company did not have a stand-alone brand or character that could have helped to generate additional profits through merchandising, unlike its counterpart, Sesame Street. Sesame Street was able to support itself with productions, books, records, and games. Thus, the Children's Television Workshop had to make a choice, and they decided to continue with Sesame Street as it had more revenue-generating potential.
The Electric Company was designed to help older children with reading. According to a report by CTW, "Government estimates showed that illiteracy was a problem for as many as one out of ten Americans," and that "millions more" were "described as 'functional illiterates.'" The show used various techniques such as sketch comedy, psychedelic graphics, wildly creative animation, mod outfits, and over-the-top characters to teach children to read. It also employed more direct methods, such as teaching the sounds of letters and the relationship between printed letters and sounds.
The Electric Company was considered a success, and it had a significant impact on its primary target audience. According to a 1977 report by the Educational Testing Service, the program was an effective instructional supplement for children who were beginning to experience reading difficulty. The show won two Emmys, aired on more than 250 public TV stations, and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms nationwide. Despite its success and popularity, The Electric Company was ultimately cancelled due to financial constraints and the lack of merchandising opportunities compared to its counterpart, Sesame Street.
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The Electric Company won two Emmys and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the United States
The Electric Company, a live-action series, was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) following the success of Sesame Street. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The show was aimed at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. It employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help children develop their grammar and reading skills. The Electric Company won two Emmys, aired on more than 250 public TV stations, and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the United States.
The show's cast included Academy Award winner Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and a then-unknown Morgan Freeman. Guest stars included Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and Joan Rivers. The comedy writers were among the best in the business and later went on to work on hit TV shows, including M*A*S*H and Everybody Loves Raymond. The show also featured a teen pop band called Short Circus, which included future star Irene Cara.
The Electric Company was considered a success, despite the challenges behind the scenes. According to a 1977 report by the Educational Testing Service, the program had a clear and significant impact on its primary target audience, indicating that it was an effective instructional supplement for children experiencing reading difficulties. However, the program was ultimately canceled due to funding limitations and the lack of merchandise possibilities compared to Sesame Street.
The Electric Company's impact extended beyond its initial run, with cast members reuniting for specials and retrospective episodes released in the following decades. In 2006, "The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits" was broadcast on many PBS stations and included interviews with cast members and creators. Apple Inc. also released 15 previously unavailable episodes on iTunes in 2007, followed by another collection of 15 episodes in the same year. The show's legacy is further highlighted by the 2009 reboot, which ran for two seasons and received positive reviews, Daytime Emmy nominations, and wins.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, The Electric Company was created by Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop), the producers behind Sesame Street.
The Electric Company was aimed at elementary school children who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read.
The Electric Company is considered a sister show to Sesame Street. The two shows have cross-over episodes and characters from one show have made cameo appearances on the other.
