On Thanksgiving Day, Sesame Street will introduce its first Asian American muppet character, Ji-Young, a young Korean American girl, in the special See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special. Helping to introduce the groundbreaking character are a number of Asian American celebrities, including DC Comics’ Jim Lee and now, Lee is taking to social media to celebrate his inclusion in the special, writing that he is “excited, thrilled, and honored” to be part of welcoming the character to the iconic children’s program.
On Monday, Lee shared a photo from the upcoming special featuring himself along with Ji-Young, performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim, as well as a few familiar Sesame Street muppets (Tamir, Abby Cadabby, and Elmo) and Alan Muraoka, who plays Alan, the current owner of Hooper’s Store on the series. For Lee, getting to be part of welcoming Ji-Young to Sesame Street was deeply personal. In his post, Lee, who is himself a Korean immigrant, credited Sesame Street as a major component of how he learned English as a child.
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“I am so excited, thrilled, and honored to announce that I’ll be appearing on @sesamestreet this Thanksgiving day, welcoming its newest resident, a 7-year-old Korean-American girl named Ji-Young!,” Lee wrote. “It’s crazy and surreal to even write these words but as a young immigrant boy who literally learned English from reading comic books AND watching Sesame Street-I can say this is a dream I hadn’t ever imagined even possible. Who would have guessed back when I started my comics career as a 21-year-old artist that I would get the opportunity decades later to hang with Tamir, Ji-Young, @alanathoopers, @elmo, and Abby Cadabby as part of #SeeUsComingTogether, a star-studded TV special celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander identities & the power of community!?! The cast and crew were so inviting and friendly and talented and made me feel truly welcomed. Suffice to say, this is a personal & career high for me-a moment that was both so much fun to be a part of & so moving and emotional when filming came to an end. Thank you @sesamestreet for having me as a part of this amazing celebration Thanksgiving day (Nov 25th) on @hbomax and @pbs.”
Lee will be joined by Shang-Chi and Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star Anna Cathcart, television host Padma Lakshmi, chef Melissa King, and professional tennis player Naomi Osaka as celebrity guests welcoming Ji-Young as part of the special.
“It’s a powerful thing when kids see people like themselves represented on screen and in stories-it supports them as they figure out who they are and who they want to be,” Alan Muraoka, longtime Sesame Street cast member and co-director of See Us Coming Together said. “We can’t wait for families to get to know Ji-Young-in this special and in future seasons of Sesame Street-and celebrate some of the Asian and Pacific Islander people in our neighborhood!”
You can check out more information about See Us Coming Together here.
See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special will air on Thanksgiving Day, November 25th on Cartoonito on HBO Max, PBS Kids, and Sesame Street‘s YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
