The PBS children’s exhibit “Sesame Street” launched its very first Filipino American muppet on Sunday as portion of a segment about displaying confidence.
The new character, named TJ, was featured together with actor Kal Penn and Ji-Younger, the show’s initially Asian American muppet. In his debut, TJ shared an instance in which aid from his loved ones experienced boosted his confidence.
“I’m finding out Tagalog. It’s a language my Filipino relatives speaks. And I have confidence due to the fact I can often question my lola for enable when I really do not know a term,” TJ says, making use of the Tagalog term for grandmother.
TJ, played by voice actor and puppeteer Yinan Shentu, is the brainchild of Filipino American animator Bobby Pontillas. The animator shared in an Instagram submit that the character’s look was motivated by his lifelong friends’ little ones, Max and Mateo.
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