Sesame Street’s first HBO season will premiere on January 16th

Earlier this summer, Sesame Street announced that its next five seasons would air on HBO, after running for more than four decades on PBS. Now that first HBO season — Sesame Street’s 46th — has a premiere date: January 16th, 2016. Two new 30-minute episodes will air back to back on that day, with one new episode followed by a repeat airing the following Saturdays.

In addition to the new half-hour format (episodes used to run for a full hour on PBS), several other changes will coincide with the show’s move to HBO. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of a new cast member, Nina, a young Hispanic woman. Cookie Monster, the Clint Eastwood of Sesame Street, will get a new segment in which he fights crime with a group of cookies. And the show’s guest list is as impressive as ever, with Gwen Stefani, Pharrell, Alan Cumming, Ne-Yo, and Tracee Ellis Ross all signed on to star in an episode. The HBO version of S-Street will also feature a new theme song.

HBO’s increased focus on children’s programming is an attempt to entice more subscribers with young children — something Netflix has excelled at recently. But PBS purists shouldn’t worry too much: PBS Kids will still air reruns of Sesame Street every day of the week except Saturday, and the new season will air at the end of 2016.