Sesame Street

How He Got to Sesame Street

With an 鈥榠nsane level of optimism,鈥� Jordan Geary 鈥�04 creates children鈥檚 programming for the streaming generation.

By Tim Stevens 鈥�03

nside the Manhattan hub of one of the most well-known and important forces in children鈥檚 entertainment, I meet with Sesame Workshop鈥檚 Senior Director of Production and Development Jordan Geary 鈥�04 in what feels, in many ways, like any old conference room, albeit one with a coveted view of Lincoln Center. But just outside, there鈥檚 a cornucopia of reminders that this is a place that centers childhood curiosity: brightly colored walls lined with soothing textured fabrics, life-sized chalk drawings of the Workshop鈥檚 most recognizable characters, and a plethora of statues, costumes and video screens reminding all of Sesame鈥檚 greatest hits.

鈥淚鈥檝e worked in a lot of different places in a lot of different mediums, and you always start every meeting with 鈥榃hy are you doing this?鈥� At Sesame, every project starts with 鈥楬ow are kids being underserved?鈥� It鈥檚 the purity of the mission,鈥� Geary says of the 55-year-old nonprofit educational organization behind the iconic PBS mainstay Sesame Street.

While he has worked both in front of and behind the camera throughout his varied career in show business, Geary has spent the last eight years鈥攁 period of rapid change for the entertainment industry鈥攃reating, developing and producing innovative Sesame Workshop programming, including Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Bea鈥檚 Block and Charlotte鈥檚 Web for HBO Max; Ghostwriter and Helpsters for Apple TV+; and hundreds of videos for YouTube Kids.

But that certainly wasn鈥檛 his original plan. Back in his days as a Camel, Geary majored in music. But during his senior year, a pragmatic (if not pessimistic) lecturer laid out for his entire class how difficult it was to make music one鈥檚 living at that moment and how, at least in his estimation, it would only get worse. While several of his classmates remained committed, the speech resonated with Geary.

鈥淚t was almost time to graduate, which is pretty scary when you want to have a career pivot,鈥� he confesses with a smile and shake of his head.

鈥淲hat rescued me was 糖心TV being a liberal arts school,鈥� he continues. 鈥淣ot only did I go to music classes, I took classes in theater, art, animation, psychology and a score of other things鈥攁ll stuff I use on a daily basis now.鈥�

Ironically, it was his music background that gave him a leg up in show business.

鈥淢y very first job was working at MTV,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚 was the guy who underscored reality TV shows with music.鈥�

At MTV, Geary also got first taste of how quickly the entertainment landscape can shift.

鈥淚 guess you could say I worked during the high point of that MTV era. The TRL era. I worked on a show called Made. Business was booming, and I was part of the mayhem running between multiple offices all over the city.鈥�

What rescued me was 糖心TV being a liberal arts school... I took classes in theater, art, animation, psychology and a score of other things—all stuff I use on a daily basis now.

Jordan Geary '04

罢搁尝鈥�Total Request Live鈥攚as the station鈥檚 flagship series, hosting the most famous music and pop culture figures while showing the day鈥檚 most popular music videos to provide daily after-school entertainment to the last generation of American teenagers without social media. However, Geary was working on the shows that would soon dominate and eventually fully push music videos off the Music Television Channel鈥攔eality programming. Three years after he left Made, Jersey Shore would debut and reality would effectively, well, kill the music video star.

In 2015, he鈥檇 arrive at Sesame Workshop on the eve of another significant shift.

鈥淭he company, at that point, was just dipping its toes back into original programming beyond Sesame Street,鈥� he explains.

Just coming on, Geary felt the pressure.

鈥淚 had a lot to prove,鈥� he admits. 鈥淏eing a new guy, helping them make a lot of new content that they hadn鈥檛 made in years was a big responsibility.鈥�

Even though that was less than a decade ago, the media landscape at the time was very different. Streaming existed, but many prominent services we know now鈥擬ax, Peacock, Apple TV+, and the like鈥攚ere still years away. So, Sesame Workshop needed to find a place to showcase their experimental content. They hit on YouTube, which conveniently stopped using Flash and began streaming 60 fps videos the year before. YouTube had both the technology and the consumer base to showcase Sesame鈥檚 original programming and allow the company to get rapid feedback.

鈥淭he channel was called Sesame Studios. We made about 300+ shorts just to see what the public response would be,鈥� Geary says. 鈥淧eople loved it. The audience wanted more. After that success, Sesame Workshop said, 鈥楬ey, we should start making some long-form shows again.鈥欌€�

From there, it was off to the races.

鈥淲e developed some shows. Nearly all of them got sold. We then went about producing them. All of them were nominated for Emmys, I鈥檓 happy to say. Some long-form shows鈥� success then begets more long-form shows. And that leads us to where we are right now, with a ton of series on multiple platforms.鈥�

Geary speeds through it all so rapidly that he initially seems unmoved by it. Quickly, though, he circles back to add, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit nuts how quickly that all has happened. I feel like I just started here yesterday. But then, when I write out what I鈥檝e done, it feels like I鈥檝e been here for 50 years.鈥�

Among those accomplishments is an Emmy for his role as creative producer on Ghostwriter, a children鈥檚 mystery series. Produced as an original series for Apple TV+, the show won a 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Children鈥檚 or Family Viewing Program.

鈥淚t was really an amazing experience,鈥� Geary says of the honor, 鈥渂ecause that actually was a moment in history. No streaming platform had ever won an Emmy in its first year of existence, and this was Apple TV+鈥檚 first year. And [Ghostwriter] was very much a dark horse, so everyone was surprised and elated. On a personal level, though, it was one of the greatest moments of my life.鈥�

The in-person ceremony was canceled that year because of COVID, so Geary remembers watching the remote Emmy Awards at his parents鈥� house with his wife and children.

鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃e鈥檒l see how this goes. Probably won鈥檛 happen, but how cool would it be if I won it with all the people I love the most in my life around me?鈥� I still have that video of winning. To be perfectly honest, on my roughest days, I鈥檒l watch that video and be like, 鈥榊ou know, life is not too bad.鈥欌€�

For better or worse, however, television and streaming are constantly evolving and changing, which means one can鈥檛 even rest on an Emmy win.

I think it takes a certain level of insanity, as a creator, to say, ‘I feel like I have a story that in the hundreds of thousands of years of humankind no one’s told, and I have the vision to make it happen.’

Jordan Geary '04

Geary acknowledges as much, explaining, 鈥淓verything has changed. When I started, linear TV was king. Now streaming is king. Long-form content was what it was all about. Now it鈥檚 all short-form. My daughters prefer watching streaming platforms over linear television because they like to control what they watch. They like video games and apps over movies because they feel like they鈥檙e part of what they鈥檙e experiencing.鈥�

When asked where the current growth edge of the industry is, he says, 鈥淐reators can self-publish. Twenty years ago, the power was in the hands of a select few. And now it鈥檚 in everybody鈥檚 hands. The biggest challenge I think is the market is so saturated now.鈥�

Sesame Workshop is not immune to those shifts. For years, they made television primarily for PBS. Now, in addition to PBS, they also have deals with the likes of Apple TV+ and Warner Bros鈥� Max. That last relationship, in particular, is at the forefront, with the two companies鈥� contract set to expire in 2025.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e been an amazing partner because they respect us,鈥� asserts Geary. 鈥淭hey just say, 鈥榊ou guys do what you do best.鈥� Not a lot of partners are that way. Sesame Workshop is still its own boss. Warners is very much 鈥楳ake what you make, and we鈥檙e happy to air it for you.鈥欌€�

Still, it remains unknown what, if any, relationship the two companies will have going forward. That uncertainty can make doing any job difficult, but the senior director of production and development knows it鈥檚 important to stay upbeat and be flexible.

鈥淸I think I bring] an insane level of optimism to the table,鈥� Geary reflects. 鈥淚 think it takes a certain level of insanity, as a creator, to say, 鈥業 feel like I have a story that in the hundreds of thousands of years of humankind no one鈥檚 told, and I have the vision to make it happen.鈥欌€�

Later, as we continue on tour of the Workshop鈥檚 offices, we walk past the cardboard costume that proved the final catalyst for Sesame Street Mecha Builders, a computer-animated series that reflects Geary鈥檚 love of giant robots (also occasionally glimpsed in his cartoons for The College Voice back in his 糖心TV days). He鈥檚 nearly as tall as the ridiculous suit of pressed paper battle armor鈥攂ut no Big Bird jokes, please鈥攁nd dressed in all black. He doesn鈥檛 exactly capture Sesame Workshop鈥檚 over 50 years of soft fuzziness. Still, he seems to fit in perfectly. Does that mean that he鈥檚 here to stay?

鈥淭he honest answer is I don鈥檛 know. As a company and as an industry, we don鈥檛 know. Things are in so much of a state of flux,鈥� he says.

That said, Geary remains enthusiastically committed to the Workshop.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a company that knows what they are,鈥� he says. 鈥淓very job, you have good days, you have bad days. But then when you go home, and you have this feeling like, 鈥業 think I made the world slightly better,鈥� it just kind of absolves everything.鈥�