11 New Sesame Street Human Characters

 

If there’s one thing I think that most of us Sesame Street fans can agree on, it’s that the show seriously needs more human characters in its current cast roster. I mean, yeah the muppets are awesome and fantastic, no doubt about it, but what made previous seasons of the show so entertaining was that for all of the zany and goofy puppet characters, there was also a broad selection of real people who had their own agendas, issues, and viewpoints that gave their fur and felt screen partners plenty of material to bounce off of. Plus, they helped make Sesame Street feel like a real place where anyone could come and visit. Now that the main human cast only consists of four main members, quite a bit of that authentic feel is gone from the most recent. Plus, I don’t think it's unreasonable to assume that Alan, Chris, Suki, and Violet could use some more people to interact with, besides themselves. So, I took the liberty of coming up with 11 new original human characters, with names, bios, and even actors I envision for their roles. So, let’s not waste any more time, and jump into the breach.

Khalil Robinson

Played By: Jazhir Bruno

Bio: Khalil is Chris’ cousin who’s come to live with him on Sesame Street. Khalil has a lot of great ideas and things he wants to do, but because he has ADHD it’s very tough for him to focus on one thing at a time, which is why his friends usually have to help him focus and concentrate his energy. In his spare time, Khalil likes to play baseball, basketball, and swim. Khalil also looks up to Grover, because of all the jobs he’s had over the years.

Cindy Smith

Played By: Kristin Davis

Bio: Cindy is a single mom who moved to Sesame Street with her daughter Jenny to take over running the Laundromat. Cleaning is one of her favorite hobbies, so she found it an easy way to do what she loves more often. She also tackles almost all of the chores at home, always making sure her apartment is spotless. Cindy is also very loving and sweet, which means she’s adopted a maternal role for pretty much all of her Sesame neighbors, being there for them whenever she can be. Also, she makes very delicious cookies, which means she’s earned a spot in Cookie Monster’s favorite book.

Jenny Smith

Played By: Gillian Jacobs

Bio: Jenny is Cindy’s daughter, who works at the Laundromat, alongside her mother. But whereas Cindy likes to do laundry because it’s cleaning things, Jenny likes it because she gets to see all of the cool clothes that her neighbors come to watch. Jenny has dreams of becoming a fashion designer and spends most of her free time drawing and stitching new designs based on the clothes she sees every day. Despite her immense knowledge and talent, Jenny tends to be very nervous and stressed in certain situations, which is why she and Telly seem to get along rather well. But luckily, she always has her friends to build/back her up whenever she’s in a pickle, and in turn, she’s always there to help them, especially if their problems are fashion related. She’s also made quite great friends with Nina, as well.

Benjamin Tucker

Played By: Tom Kenny

Bio: Benjamin, or Ben, as he prefers to be called, lives in the 123 apartment building with his wife and daughter, right above Elmo and his family. He works as a subway driver, taking people to wherever they need to go. Ben is a very mellow guy. When he’s not on the job, he can be found at home reading a book, or taking a walk down the block. Out of the grown-ups, Ben is one most likely to play the peacemaker, which is probably due to the fact that his own daughter is such a rebel. Ben is also a very avid dog-lover, which means he’s particularly fond of both Tango and Barkley.

Elena Tucker

Played By: Grey Grifin

Bio: Elena is a theater major and retired Broadway performer, who decided to move to Sesame Street with her husband and daughter to get away from the hustle and bustle of her career, though that doesn’t mean the passion she has for her craft is gone. Elena still lives and breathes performing, and sees everything through that perspective. Every day, she’s always got a new song to sing, or a new character to pretend to be, and she’ll turn any situation she can into a big production. Because she’s such an experienced thespian, Prairie Dawn often turns to her whenever she’s coming up with a new pageant. They make quite the creative duo. Because of her over-the-top Elena has also been known to overreact to quite a few life events, even if she’s not the one being affected, because of this, Elena’s neighbors (As well as her daughter) sometimes get annoyed with her, but never for too long, as they know she cares very much about them.

Angela Tucker

Played By: Paris Berelc

Bio: Angela is Ben and Elena’s teenage daughter who has a thirst for adventure and an appetite for roller derby. (That’s her favorite sport.) Angela is headstrong, knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to face any challenge, no matter how challenging it may seem. Ji-Young and Rosita, in particular, have become quite close to her. When it comes to parents, Angela tends to favor her dad, because of how overdramatic and embarrassing her mom tends to be but rest assured she loves them both equally, and will not hesitate to say so.

Karen Lang

Played By: Deedee Mango Hall

Bio: Karen is one half a duo of singers, who moved to New York City because they always wanted to sing their songs here. Not only do they sing for people, but they also give singing lessons. Of the two, Karen is the more level-headed and professional one, but she still cares very deeply about her neighbors and her students, and will always assist whenever she’s needed. She also has a soft spot for Ji-Young.

Veronica Lee

Played By: Yvette Nicole Brown

Bio: Veronica is Karen’s girlfriend and the other half of their singing duo. Unlike her partner, Veronica tends to act a lot more emotional and high-strung, which is why she and Karen are such a perfect match. She makes absolutely no hesitations to show how much her neighbors and students mean to her, though secretly, her favorite is Gabrielle.

Juan Rivera

Played By: Anthony Ramos

Bio: Juan is a young Dominican adult who runs a traveling-flavored shaved ice cart with his father. They frequently visit Sesame Street and frequently interact with the residents there. Juan loves to play his guitar in his spare time, or help around the neighborhood if need be. In fact, that’s how he fell in love with Nina, but that’s another story.

Carlos Rivera

Played By: Wilmer Valderrama

Bio: Carlos is Juan’s dad and the owner of the shaved ice cart they run. Carlos takes his job very seriously, as it was a job that was passed down in his family for generations. But despite this, he doesn’t overwork his son too hard and allows him to help out at other businesses like Hooper’s Store, The Laundromat, and The Bike Shop if they need his assistance. Carlos is also very wise and is very happy to share his wisdom with anyone who needs it.

Gary Boondock

Played By: Dana Snyder

Bio: Gary is an old geezer who left his retirement home because of how old it made him feel. He loves living on Sesame Street a lot more because he gets to do so many awesome things with so many awesome people. He loves to eat, exercise, and watch TV. Gary is a very easygoing guy, and will usually be down for anything his friends/neighbors want him to do. Even Oscar.

More children that aren't actors

This isn’t really a character idea, but the show needs to bring in more kids who don't have any acting experience whatsoever, so we can get more of that authentic character/kid banter that the show is known for.

So yeah, those are my ideas for new human characters. Will they become a reality? Most likely not. This was just something I wanted to do for fun, to remind us how important humans are to show. Do you guys have any new human character ideas? If you do, please let me know in the comments. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time. Bye!

Dedicated to Bob McGrath (1932-2022)

You’re a person that we’ll miss each day.