May 27, 2020 (2020-05-27) – December 30, 2021 (2021-12-30)
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is an American late-night talk show hosted by the Muppet character Elmo.[1] It is a spin-off of Sesame Street and was developed exclusively for the HBO Max streaming service. The series, consisting of 13 episodes, debuted on HBO Max on May 27, 2020. The first three episodes were available at launch, after which new episodes were premiered weekly.[2] Each episode runs for 15 minutes.[3] In March 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on September 30, 2021, when the show moved to the service's Cartoonito section.[4][5] However, in August 2022, the series was removed from HBO Max.[6] The series aired on PBS Kids from February 10, 2023,[7] to May 10, 2024.[8]
Premise
The host of the late-night talk show series is the Muppet character Elmo. The American program's main curricular goals are centered around children's bedtime routines, of which each episode demonstrates a different aspect.[2] The program focuses primarily on long-form, in-depth celebrity interviews, designed to help younger viewers connect with others on a deeper level.[9]
The format of the program changed to a game show for the second season, which is alternatively titled The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Game Edition. Real kid contestants play games and compete in challenges with celebrity guests.[10]
Before bedtime, Elmo takes on the role of talk show host. For his first episode, Elmo's guests are Jimmy Fallon and Kacey Musgraves, who sings a classic Sesame Street song.
The Jonas Brothers drop by Elmo's show to compete in a Silly Freeze Dance contest and sing a song about tooth-brushing. Abby Cadabby's magical fix causes havoc in the control room for Bert and Ernie.
Elmo looks inside some goody bags before challenging guest John Mulaney to a nail-biting tricycle race and dueting with Lil Nas X. Ernie leads a backstage tour in the middle of the show and Cookie Monster gets a special visitor.
Batman (Victor Joel Ortiz, uncredited) plays a contest of Beach Ball Ballyhoo with Elmo until the Bat Signal appears on the curtain. In search of a perfect bedtime story, Elmo welcomes acapella group Pentatonix, who perform a medley of lullabies. Rosita looks for three sheep so she can tell her favorite bedtime tale and sings a goodnight song.
Animal Trainer Nature Nick brings some animal friends on-set to help teach Elmo about nocturnal creatures. Jordin Sparks sings one of her favorite preschool songs, the "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and shares her favorite thing about night-time. Correspondent Grover goes to Sesame Street to investigate whether the sun should be in bed and to investigate whether it is night.
Elmo competes in a nursery rhyme rap battle contest with Miles Brown and the Joyous String Ensemble play a medley of familiar Sesame Street tunes. Cookie Monster babysits his little niece, who runs around the studio before her bedtime.
Elmo and Cookie Monster talk about weird dreams before Blake Lively returns to Sesame Street for a contest of "Cookie Monster Says". Duo Dan + Shay perform "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon". Oscar the Grouch prepares to get his chance in the spotlight for "Trash Talk".
Elmo finds out which animal John Oliver would be and they compete in the world's slowest and most dramatic race. Sofia Carson sings a lullaby to Elmo and Kwame Alexander recites an impromptu poem about Elmo.
Elmo learns about Hoda Kotb's morning routine and challenging her to a contest of "Hot Potato". Ben Platt sings "C Is For Cookie" in a duet with Cookie Monster. Grover offers to pack Elmo's backpack for school.
Elmo brings in "monster makeover specialist" Jonathan Van Ness to unleash the gorgeous monster inside Sesame Streeter Alan (Alan Muraoka), before Elmo and Cookie unveil hair and makeup transformations of their own. Mykal-Michelle Harris gives hosting a whirl and faces off with Elmo in a "No Laugh Challenge", and H.E.R. performs a song about her beautiful, versatile hair.
It's time for Elmo's show, but his first guest, Grover is nowhere to be found! Not to worry, Andy Cohen steps in to do his best impression of the MIA monster Grover, while Josh Groban takes Oscar's lead in singing a "trashy" refrain.
The Count helps Elmo keep an eye on the clock in preparation for jammie time. Elmo welcomes Olivia Wilde for a contest of "Teddy Bear Dress Up." Musical guest Sara Bareilles brings out two of her besties (Mona Tavakoli and Choska Potter) -- plus an extra special Sesame Street friend Big Bird -- to help her perform her very own version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
Elmo isn't timid about an important part of his bedtime routine: potty time (party time)! After he challenges Jason Sudeikis to a round of the "Silly Dance Game" contest, Ciara stops by to share an inspiring musical message called "Believe In Yourself". Meanwhile, Grover shakes things up as he plays usher.
In Southeast Asia, the series is aired through HBO Go and episodes are released alongside their HBO Max releases in the United States. In Canada, the series premiered on Treehouse TV on September 5, 2020.[13][14] In New Zealand, the series premiered on TVNZ OnDemand on January 8, 2021.[15] The show began airing on Cartoon Network in the United States on January 28, 2022, under the Cartoonito brand.
The series made its public television premiere on February 10, 2023,[7] on the PBS Kids 24/7 channel, where reruns aired until May 10, 2024.[8] Each broadcast included one 15-minute episode of the show, followed by PBS Kids short series, such as City Island and Jelly, Ben & Pogo, to fill the remaining time of the half-hour timeslot.
Sesame Workshop announced the production of an Israeli adaptation of the series, titled The Talk Show with Elmo (תוכנית האירוח של אלמו), which is slated to premiere on Hop! Channel in October of the same year. 14 episodes have been produced.[9]
Production
The pilot show was directed by Benjamin Lehmann and was produced in January 2019,[16][17] and features special guest Kacey Musgraves performing "Rubber Duckie".[18] Full production of the series took place in November and December 2019.[19]
In addition to Musgraves, confirmed guests were Jimmy Fallon, the Jonas Brothers, John Oliver, an uncredited actor Victor Joel Ortiz portraying Batman, Jason Sudeikis, Kwame Alexander, Sara Bareilles, Miles Brown, Ciara, Andy Cohen, Dan + Shay, Josh Groban, Mykal-Michelle Harris, H.E.R., Hoda Kotb, Lil Nas X, Blake Lively, John Mulaney, Pentatonix, Ben Platt, Jonathan Van Ness, Olivia Wilde and Sofia Carson.[20][21] On March 29, 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season.[4]
Reception
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo received positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season of the show an 81% "fresh" rating based on 16 reviews with an average rating of 7/10. The critical consensus is: "With great guests, fun games, and a lot of silly songs, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is a fitting bedtime show for tots that parents may even enjoy as well".[22]Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100, assigned a rating score of 70 based on 8 critic reviews, meaning favorable reviews for the first season.[23]
