Meet Leela, Sesame Street’s newest cast member

[CensoredAlso]

It's always amazing to see new talent on Sesame Street. I'm really becoming a fan of last season's new member, Chris.

Oh yeah I forgot about Chris, but I really did enjoy watching him, he was very funny.

It's important to show countries are full of different people, not just political ideas and economic power.

Yes, we usually hear about other countries in regards to their governments, etc (and I'm sure people look at the US in the same way sometimes). We don't always get to hear about the people.

 

[Never Say Croak]

Great article! It reminded me that the human characters are equally as important as the puppets for making Sesame Street such a great show.

 

[ISNorden]

Great article! It reminded me that the human characters are equally as important as the puppets for making Sesame Street such a great show.

Absolutely; as vital as the Muppets have been in giving Sesame Street its unique style, I'm glad that the Workshop has begun paying more attention to human characters lately.

 

[Drtooth]

Yes, we usually hear about other countries in regards to their governments, etc (and I'm sure people look at the US in the same way sometimes). We don't always get to hear about the people.

Plus, it's always just so much fun to hear about other cultures out there. I've seen a lot of Indian characters in TV shows lately, but most are sadly just goofy accented buffoons (cough cough Unhitched). the only other positive Indian character i've seen on a TV series as of late is Kelly from The Office.

 

[dabauckham]

Another great Indian actress is Parminder Nagra. She played the lead in "Bend it Like Beckham" (great, great movie) and now has an important role on ER. However, when you look at her costar from "Bend it Like Beckham" Keira Knightly you can see that Keira has had A LOT more work than Parminder (Atonement, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more movies).

Why is that, you may ask? Well, unfortunately there still aren't as many roles out there for minority groups as there should be. Don't get me wrong, I think that Keira and Parminder are both extremely talented actresses and anyone who hasn't seen "Bend it Like Beckham" absolutely needs to. It's a great insight into British Indian family dynamics.

Getting back to the point - I am very excited that Sesame Street will now have an Indian character! Nitya/Leela looks like she'll be an excellent and talented addition to the show.

 

[Redsonga]

I sense the beginning of a generation gap next season: people my age associate the name "Leela" with the main female character on a very different TV show. It feels strange knowing that kids in day-care centers will grow up hearing that name and imagining a live-action immigrant woman in a laundromat...*hmmm*

Which show is that?

 

[MrsPepper]

Which show is that?

He was referring to Futurama, where Leela, one of the lead characters, is a sexy one-eyed alien who captains a delivery spaceship. Quite different from this Leela!

 

[Redsonga]

He was referring to Futurama, where Leela, one of the lead characters, is a sexy one-eyed alien who captains a delivery spaceship. Quite different from this Leela!

Oh well, not everyone watches that so I don't think there will be much of a mix up

 

[CensoredAlso]

I watch Futurama occasionally and it honestly didn't occur to me. ::shrugs::

 

[BEAR]

How exciting! It's been quite some time since there's been a new member of the human cast! Thanks for the report Phil!

Actually, they had a new human cast member this season. It was Gordon and Susan's nephew Chris. But this is still exciting news.