Elmo, the little red monster from "Sesamstraße", is getting his own video podcast format. Starting July 8, "Elmo - und Du so?" will be available to watch and listen to on ARD Mediathek and ARD Sounds. In it, the children's TV star invites prominent guests and asks them questions the way children do: directly, curiously, and often repeatedly with a "Warum?".
"I have many questions and adults have so many answers. Sometimes even to questions I didn't even ask", Elmo explains the concept of his show in a statement from broadcaster NDR.
How Elmo's video podcast works
The format is quite simple: Elmo asks, the guest answers. Where the conversation leads is left somewhat to chance. In Elmo's "Studio", the celebrities draw topic pictures from a goldfish bowl, all painted by Elmo himself. Since his artworks aren't always immediately decipherable, surprising, honest, and very personal conversations often arise, according to the broadcaster.
Between spiders, music, childhood, and friendship, the format repeatedly touches on life's big questions - raised from a child's unfiltered perspective. The first guests include "Tagesschau" anchor Susanne Daubner (65). With her, Elmo chats about full closets, selfies, and dancing. "I love dancing and I also like to dance at home instead of at the gym", Daubner reveals.
A total of four additional episodes are available at launch. Singer Max Mutzke (45) talks with Elmo about his journey from the Black Forest to color television. With host Evelyn Weigert (38), it's all about falling down and getting back up. Comedian Sükrü-Can Fener (28) explains "ernste Witze" to the red monster, and with journalist Linda Zervakis (50), it's about Zervelatwurst, hair growth, and passion.
