Sesame Street Spoofed ‘Orange is the New Black’ Without the Lesbian Sex, and It’s Weird — Watch
Every once in a while, “Sesame Street” gives its viewers over the age of five a treat, in the form of a pop culture parody riffing on something wholly unsuitable for its target demographic. “Game of Thrones” and “Mad Men” have all been parodied in the past by the children’s television empire — and those shows won Emmys.
So maybe it’s a good sign, that “Sesame Street” turned its attention to “Orange is the New Black” this week with a sketch recreating the Netflix prison drama.
“Orange is the New Snack” spotlights the characters of Morello (as played by Yael Stone on the series), Red (originated by Kate Mulgrew) and Crazy Eyes/Suzanne (Uzo Aduba) as they welcome newcomer Piper Snackman (i.e. Piper Chapman, as played by Taylor Schilling).
Unlike other “Sesame Street” pop culture parodies, “Snack” makes fundamental changes to the basic premises of the series — instead of prison, the characters here are just attending “Litchfield Academy” (hence the uniforms).
It’s a bit of an odd choice, given that “Sesame Street” famously introduced the character of Alex, a Muppet whose father is in prison, a few years ago. Meanwhile, it’s less of a shock that the character of Pornstache (played in human form by Pablo Schreiber on the series) is renamed “Mr. Mustache” for the preschool set.
One commonality — whether human or Muppet, Piper remains well-meaning but self-righteous. Check out the sketch below. If you’re old enough, “Orange is the New Black” Season 5 premieres Friday, June 9, on Netflix.
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