'Sesame Street' introduces TJ, the show's very first Filipino muppet
Just in time for Heritage Month, ‘Sesame Street’ introduced TJ, the show’s very first Filipino muppet. TJ joins Ji-Young, a Korean American girl introduced in 2021 who became the show’s first-ever Asian American muppet. The two are seen here together in a video called, ‘Showing Confidence with Kal Penn.’
“Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities, or the abilities of others,” Kal says. “TJ, how do you show your confidence?”
“Oh well, I’m learning Tagalog. It’s a language my Filipino family speaks,” TJ responds. “And I have confidence because I can always ask my Lola for help when I don’t know a word.”
Bobby Pontillas, a Filipino American director and animator, worked with Louis Mitchell to create the muppet. “For his look, I based him off of my lifelong friends’ kids, Max and Mateo, thank you for the inspiration lads. I was blessed to collaborate with master puppeteer Louis Mitchell, the loveliest human on earth,” Pontillas wrote in an Instagram post.
Cheers to more Asian representation!
