‘Sesame Street’ introduces first-ever Filipino-American muppet

Beloved kids show “Sesame Street” has introduced their first-ever Filipino-American muppet, TJ. According to Yahoo News, he is the first Asian-American character to join the cast since the show made history in 2021 with Ji-Young—the first-ever Asian-American muppet.

TJ made his debut on Sunday where he starred in a video alongside actor Kal Penn, a “Sesame Street” favorite, Grover, and Ji-Young. TJ learned all about the word “confidence” in the short video.

In the video, TJ shared that he was learning how to speak Tagalog, the language his family speaks. His confidence in speaking the language comes from being able to ask his Lola any time he needs a little help. Lola is the Tagalog word for grandmother. Of course, it would be a grandparent helping out the little guy!

TJ’s character came to life through the sketches of Bobby Pontillas, a Filipino-American artist and animator. He posted about the project on Instagram and shared that he collaborated with master puppeteer Louis Mitchell. Click here to see Pontillas’s original sketches on the gram! His caption included a shoutout to the friends who inspired the character’s look, “For his look, I based him off of my lifelong friends’ kids, Max and Matteo, thank you for the inspiration lads.”

Yinan Shentu is the voice and puppeteer behind TJ’s character. He gives an insider’s look behind-the-scenes of “Sesame Street” with his pal TJ on Instagram. Shentu penned a lengthy caption on the gram about the importance of inclusion in the media and how this role is beyond what he would have ever dreamed for his younger self, “that’s a dream that even the little kid from all those years ago would have never even imagined to have.”

Rosemary Espina Palcios, director of talent outreach, inclusion and content development at “Sesame Street,” also posted about the importance of TJ’s character.

Palacios wrote, “I’m so proud to help bring some Filipino representation to the neighborhood, and just in time for API Heritage Month to show the range in our diaspora. His first segment with @kalpenn and Ji-Young is all about confidence, something I personally feel can help unravel the model minority stereotype.”

“Sesame Street” has a history of bringing awareness to timely topics through their show. From helping kids not to be afraid about the MMR vaccine in the ’70s to preparing kids for the COVID vaccine with the help of Big Bird.

They truly are a one-of-a-kind children’s show.