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Kay Wilson Stallings is an American television executive and producer. She worked at Nickelodeon as a network executive from 1999 until March 2015, when she left the company due to a wave of senior employee layoffs. In August 2015, Stallings was hired by Sesame Workshop. In 2020, she was promoted to Sesame Workshop's head of creative development. In her role as Nickelodeon's senior vice president (SVP) of production and development, Stallings oversaw the development of all original series for Nickelodeon Preschool and the Nick Jr. Channel. Stallings developed more than 20 shows during her tenure, including Wonder Pets, The Fresh Beat Band, Shimmer and Shine, Sunny Day, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Nickelodeon's revival of Winx Club. She was also the executive-in-charge of Winx Club and The Backyardigans
Ernie and Bert are the hosts of a two-hour variety show (directed by Prairie Dawn with assistant Trevor Monster, who debuts in this show) featuring their Sesame Street friends, and presenting new performances of classic Sesame Street songs and sketches, as well as covers of musical classics such as "Send in the Clowns", "Clap for the Wolfman", and "Copacabana". Unlike other Sesame Street live shows, these shows utilized the official puppets used on the show itself rather than walk-around costume versions. The puppeteers, clad all in black, are exposed to the audience, while two large screens loom over both sides of the stage, both of which frame only the Muppet characters (however, the performers reveal themselves during the curtain call). Unusual for a live show, the Muppet performers both spoke and sang live, making the experience slightly different for each show. In addition, celebrities make cameos throughout the show (who vary from show to show), including Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Carrey, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Whoopi Goldberg, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Tom Bergeron, Bobby Moynihan, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Michael Buble, Howie Mandel, Randy Rainbow, Steve Harvey, Celine Dion, Sia, Lloyd Ahlquist and Peter Shukoff, Ryan Reynolds (reprising his role as Deadpool), ALF (performed by Paul Fusco), and Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker.
