Live-Action ‘Sesame Street’ Movie Taps ‘Portlandia’ Co-Creator Jonathan Krisel As Director

Portlandia director and co-creator, Jonathan Krisel, is set to direct the live-action Sesame Street movie for Warner Bros. The film will be a musical, according to sources.

Portlandia has earned Krisel six Emmy nominations. On top of that, he’s also co-created the Zach Galifianakis FX series Baskets and has written and directed episodes of Comedy Central’s Kroll Show and FXX’s Man Seeking Woman.

In 2015, The Sesame Workshop, rights holder of the show, entered into a five year deal with HBO.  The movie has been in the works since 2012 when 20th Century Fox held the rights.

While Warner Bros is focused on the DC Universe, Sesame Street is a sign they’re still invested in family-focused films. The film will be Krisel’s first major studio movie.