‘Sesame Street’ debuts TJ, the first Filipino-American Muppet in an episode about the importance of self-confidence.
- A Filipino American Muppet has been added to Sesame Street in a new episode.
- The new character TJ was introduced in one episode with Cal Penn
Children’s show Sesame Street introduced its first Filipino American Muppet on Sunday.
In a segment about what confidence means, New Muppet TJ reveals that the support he gets from his family has given him confidence in how to speak the Filipino dialect of Tagalog.
TJ He appeared alongside Ji-Young, the Korean-American character he introduced during the 2021 Thanksgiving show, and former Obama administration White House staff member and actor Cal Penn.
Sesame Street has aired on PBS since its debut in 1969, and over the years, many characters have been added to the show.
Children’s show Sesame Street introduced its first Filipino American Muppet on Sunday. The new character TJ is pictured
TJ (left) poses with Ji-young (right), a Korean-American character introduced during the 2021 Thanksgiving show, and human character Cal Penn (center).
Sunday’s episode features TJ Penn discussing the concept of trust, where it comes from, and how it can be strengthened.
Penn said on the show, ‘Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities. ‘When I’m unsure of myself, I know I have people who support me and believe in me.’
Ji-young then strums her guitar and says that playing the instrument has given her confidence.
‘TJ, how do you show your confidence?’ Penn asked the new character.
‘I’m learning Tagalog. It’s the language my Filipino family speaks. And I have confidence because I can always ask my nanny for help without knowing a single word,’ TJ responded, using the Tagalog word for grandma.
TJ was the brainchild of Filipino-American animation director Bobby Pontillas, who shared a post on Instagram explaining how he conceived the character and how it evolved.
Thanks to my lifelong friends’ sons, Max and Matteo, who inspired my vision. ‘I’m blessed to be partnering with one of humanity’s most beloved master puppeteers on earth, Louis Mitchell,’ he wrote.
TJ was the brainchild of Filipino-American animation director Bobby Pontillas.
Sesame Street has aired on PBS since its debut in 1969, and over the years many characters have been featured in the show.
Over the past few years, the creators of the show, Sesame Workshop, have added several characters – in In 2021, it introduced Elijah Walker and his son Wes – African American characters.
Rosemary Espina Palacios, director of talent outreach, inclusion and content development at Sesame Workshop, who is from the Philippines, posted on Instagram to celebrate TJ’s arrival.
‘I’m so proud to help bring some Filipino representation to the neighborhood, and I’m proud to help showcase the range of our diaspora just in time for API Heritage Month,’ she wrote.
“The first episode with @kalpenn and Ji-Young is about confidence, something I personally feel helps address the stereotype of the model minority,” she added.
It’s TG. He is played by voice actor and puppeteer Yinan Shentu.