Sesame Street episode nets Chelsea, Que., writer her 1st Emmy award

On Saturday, Katherine Sandford flew to Los Angeles to receive a special honour.

A children’s television writer from Chelsea, Que., Sandford won her first Emmy as one of three writers on a Sesame Street episode called Can They Be Friends? at the Children’s and Family Emmys.

The category was Outstanding Writing for a Live Action Preschool or Children’s Program, and she won alongside fellow writers Andrew Moriarty and Ken Scarborough.

“[Being outstanding is] just my normal state of mind, really!” Sandford said with a laugh on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning last Thursday.

While it’s not the first time Sandford has been part of an Emmy-nominated team, it’s the first time she’s attended the award show.

“I’m so proud and happy to represent a little Canadian bit of Sesame Street,” she said.

In the segment of the episode she worked on, the muppet Elmo and friends find a monarch butterfly in the yard. When it flies away, they have to plant a flower garden to encourage it to return.

“Our catch phrase is: observe, don’t disturb,” Sandford said. “They can be friends with the butterfly, it just has to be on the butterfly’s terms.”

Given the current political climate, that message of friendship is particularly poignant, Sandford said — noting she’d be reassuring her American counterparts at the Emmys that Canadians are “friends” and “not going anywhere.”

But Sesame Street, she added, is also unique among American kids programming.

Canadian content, Canadian values

Speaking to CBC from Los Angeles after the awards, Sandford emphasized how important Canadian children’s programming is — especially amid the ongoing trade war. 

Parents “should be considering Canadian television for children, rather than just YouTube and American content,” she said.

“If we want to preserve our cultural values, we have to start with our children,” she said. “I work all over the world … and Canadian content is different when it’s specifically Canadian.”

She argued that American content doesn’t always transmit Canadian values — with certain exceptions.

“I don’t want to say that about Sesame Street, ’cause Sesame Street has been progressive since the 60’s,” she noted.

“But in a lot of other programs, Canadian values aren’t the ones top of mind. Why would they be? If we want our children to assimilate our values, we need to be mindful of the programs that they watch.”

During her trip south of the border, Sanford said she’s been having a lot of conversations about the news — even right after she stepped off stage.

“When I actually won, the woman who was taking me to get my picture taken was like, ‘Oh my god, please tell everyone in Canada that we are so sorry and we support you,'” Sandford said.

“It’s a big country and there’s a lot of people who didn’t vote for what’s going on.”