Sesame Workshop Expanding Slate with Book Adaptations

Sesame Workshop is expanding its animation slate with book-based properties, beginning with an adaptation of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web.

Production is set to begin on the miniseries in April, with Academy Award-winning director Luke Matheny serving as executive producer and head writer. Sesame Workshop and WarnerMedia Kids & Family will work together on the adaptation, which will launch on HBO Max and Cartoon Network in 2024.

Matheny has adapted literature for the screen with Sesame Workshop before, as he directs Ghostwriter, which draws inspiration from classic works such as Alice in Wonderland, Frankenstein and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Sesame Workshop has also brought on Heather Alexander as book and literary scout to identify and analyze children’s books for future development.

“For over 50 years, Sesame Workshop has been weaving stories that center memorable characters and diverse, compelling voices,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, executive VP of creative and production at Sesame Workshop. “Stories can forge powerful connections with kids and families–where better to start than with a faithful retelling of one of the most beloved children’s novels of all time?”

Martha White, granddaughter of E.B. White who manages the literary estate for the family, added, “Sesame Workshop outlined a very promising series of episodes for this project, and we are eager to see their creative talents paired with E.B. White’s timeless story.”