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Jim Lee Appears With Ji-Young On Sesame Street On Thanksgiving Day

Published Mon, 15 Nov 2021 15:37:11 -0600

Last updated Mon, 15 Nov 2021 15:49:23 -0600

Sesame Workshop today announced a new family special celebrating the rich diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities as part of the organization's ongoing racial justice initiative. See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special will debut on Thanksgiving Day. Designed for families to watch together, See Us Coming Together follows the Sesame Street friends through a "Neighbor Day" celebration with a new Sesame Street muppet Ji-Young—a seven-year-old Korean American character performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim.

And also appearing on the show with Ji Young will be DC Comics publisher Jim Lee, as well as actors Simu Liu and Anna Cathcart, chef Melissa King, television personality Padma Lakshmi, and athlete Naomi Osaka, sharing their passions, talents, and cultures with their Sesame Street friends.

As part of Sesame Workshop's "Coming Together" initiative—created to support families of all backgrounds through ongoing conversations about race—the special also includes an opportunity for talking about anti-Asian racism. Jim Lee posted to Twitter;

I am so excited, thrilled and honored to announce that I'll be appearing on @sesamestreet
this Thanksgiving day, welcoming its newest resident, a 7-year-old Korean-American girl named Ji-Young! It's crazy and surreal to even write these words but as a young immigrant boy who literally learned English from reading comic books AND watching Sesame Street—I can say this is a dream I hadn't ever imagined even possible. Who would have guessed back when I started my comics career as a 21 year old artist that I would get the opportunity decades later to hang with Tamir, Ji-Young, @alanathoopers, @elmo and Abby Cadabby as part of #SeeUsComingTogether, a star-studded TV special celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander identities & the power of community!?! The cast and crew were so inviting and friendly and talented and made me feel truly welcomed. Suffice to say, this is a personal & career high for me—a moment that was both so much fun to be a part of & so moving and emotional when filming came to an end. Thank you @sesamestreet for having me as part of this amazing celebration Thanksgiving day (Nov 25th) on @hbomax and @pbs

Jim Lee On Sesame Street — Jim Lee on Sesame Workshop, photographer Zach Hyman

And comic book creators were impressed!

Tom King: Whoa
David Macho: WHAAAAA—?! This is so cool! Congrats, Jim!!!!!
Mark Russell: Wow. That's amazing, Jim!
Gary Frank: Congrats, Jim. That's crazy cool.
Cully Hamner: Wow, cool, Jim!
James Gunn: This is awesome, Jim.
Peter J. Tomasi: Pretty damn cool! Congrats, Jim!
Shawn Kirkham: AWESOME!!
Joe Quinones: That is so great. Congrats!
Mitch Gerads: This is amazing, Jim! Congrats!
Joey Esposito: dude! incredible!
Rich Douek: congratulations Jim! That's amazing.
Scott Snyder: huge congrats Jim – so cool!
Alex de Campi: !!! this is so cool!

Families can watch the new special beginning on Thursday, November 25 on Cartoonito on HBO Max, PBS KIDS, and Sesame Street's YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. See Us Coming Together joins another broadcast Sesame Street special, "The Power of We," also available on HBO Max, and a companion series of short-form digital content. Additional videos and articles for adults cover the building blocks of what racial justice can mean for young children. For more information—including more viewing guides and activities to complete together—please visit sesame.org/seeus. See Us Coming Together is made possible with support from The Asian American Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and P&G/Pampers.