“Sesame Street” featured two gay dads and their daughter in a groundbreaking episode celebrating diversity and inclusion.
In an episode entitled “Family Day,” which premiered last week on HBO Max and YouTube, the beloved children’s show has a scene in which Nina (Suki Lopez) introduces her brother Dave (Chris Costa), his husband Frank (Alex Weisman), and their daughter Mia (Olivia Perez) to Elmo and his friends.
“We are here!,” the happy family says as they join the gang, in perhaps a nod to a pro-equality chant popularized in the early ’90s, “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!”
LGBTQ rights advocates applauded the inclusion of same-sex parents in the popular kids show, noting the significance of the moment.
“The ‘Family Day’ episode of Sesame Street sends the simple and important message that families come in all forms and that love and acceptance are always the most important ingredients in a family,” the president and CEO of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, wrote on Twitter.
“Frank and Dave, as Mia’s dads, are the latest characters in an undeniable trend of inclusion across kids & family programming, one that allows millions of proud LGBTQ parents, and our children, to finally get to see families like ours reflected on TV,” added Ellis, who’s the mother of twins.
“Happy Pride and Happy Fathers day,” tweeted Eric Rosswood, the author of “We Make It Better: The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads,” and “Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood.”
Actor Alan Muraoka — who plays Hooper’s Store’s owner Alan — wrote in a Facebook post that he was “so honored and humbled to have co-directed this important and milestone episode.”
The show has always been a “welcoming place of diversity and inclusion,” he noted. “We are so happy to add this special family to our Sesame family,” Muraoka added.
As all the families in the episode are being introduced to one another, one character notes that “all our families are so different.”
Dave agrees: “Yes, there are all kinds of different families. But what makes us a family is that we love each other,” he said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Alan concludes.
