'Sesame Street' Adds Two Gay Fathers To Its Cast Of Characters

“Sesame Street” has introduced its first openly gay characters, with two fathers raising a young daughter.

What Happened: On June 17, the long-established character Nina (played by Suki Lopez) introduced her brother Dave, his husband Frank and their daughter Mia to the program as part of an episode celebrating Family Day.

Chris Costa and Alex Weisman play Dave and Frank and Olivia Perez plays their daughter Mia, who briefly refers to her parents as “Daddy and Papi.”

The new characters had relatively little to do in their initial episode outside of being acquainted with Sesame Street's human and Muppet denizens and briefly helping Nina to divert Big Bird from noticing his grandmother Granny Bird made a surprise visit. It is uncertain whether the new characters will become occasional or regular additions to the show.

Despite their somewhat limited screen debut, Alan Muroka, who co-directed the episode, hailed the casting on his social media pages.

“Sesame Street has always been a welcoming place of diversity and inclusion,” he stated, adding that he was “so honored and humbled to have co-directed this important and milestone episode. Love is love, and we are so happy to add this special family to our Sesame family.”

Why It Happened: The introduction of Dave and Frank coincided with both the ongoing Pride commemorations honoring the LGBTQ community during June as well as Sunday’s Father’s Day observances.

Since its launch in 1969, “Sesame Street” has been groundbreaking in offering multiracial and multiethnic casting. Over the years, it incorporated characters with physical and developmental disabilities and addressed issues related to AIDS and drug addiction.

The program introduced two African American Muppets earlier in the year to explain racial differences, and it also devoted a recent segment to the Juneteenth holiday observing the end of slavery in the former Confederate South.

“Sesame Street” is broadcast on HBO Max, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc T.

Related Link: Marvel Comics Debuts First LGBTQ Captain America

(From left: Chris Costa, Suki Lopez and Alex Weisman try to hide Granny Bird from Big Bird on "Sesame Street." Screenshot from the June 17 edition courtesy of Sesame Workshop / HBO Max.)