[citation needed] After a short test run of a few original, undubbed Sesame Street episodes, from August 1972 onward, the German version of the show premiered on 8 January 1973.

Initially, only the opening and closing songs and sequences were changed, with new lyrics written by Volker Ludwig and tunes by Ingfried Hoffmann.

From 1976 through 1977, the street scenes were dropped, partly as the result of a constant onslaught by protesting parents who were unhappy with the "controversial" character of Oscar the Grouch.

The matting also allowed the characters to show up in different locations, like a beach, a small deserted island that would be surrounded by an entire ocean through the snap of one's fingers, a nearby train station, or the roof of the studio.

It was a circus gala performance taped at "Zirkus Althoff," in which Big Bird appeared alongside the German characters one more time.

From 1986 onward, new episodes with two new human actors were produced, and while the studio set remained largely the same, a bicycle shop was added, run by the new residents.

After her short-lived Sesame career, she got her own ALF-like show called "Leonie Löwenherz" on ARD, featuring herself, her two lion brothers, and a few human characters.

During this time period, older puppets were re-used for new characters such as Simson (on and off in 1989–2000), Samson's cousin, with slight changes being made to his appearance (equipped with a hat, a tie, or another article of clothing).

Originally, Simson was only imagined by Samson and other characters doubted his existence, much like Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus in the United States.

Newcomers to the puppet cast were Feli Filu (2000–2007), the monster reporter, the comic duo Pferd the horse (2002–present) and Wolle the sheep (2002–present), as well as a few recurring grouches, and some Anything Muppets.

One-shot characters include Super Franky, Grouchella, Knut Köffelström, Turbo Theo, as well as various wolves, dogs, and other creatures.

As more and more previously used Muppets were borrowed from Sesame Workshop, more secondary characters evolved in their own sketches, such as the green Wolf vom Wörtersee in 2007.

In 2003, the German co-production's 30th anniversary was celebrated with a press conference and Axel Schulz, Ernie, Bert and Elmo (performed by Kevin Clash) in attendance, as the show gave a donation of €12,271.00 to UNICEF.

[1] New characters included a female friend of Elmo's, played by Julia Stinshoff, and Susi Schraube, an inventive girl appearing in a series of stop-motion segments.

Newer additions are Feli Filu the Monster reporter, the comic duo Pferd the Horse, and Wolle the sheep, a few grouches (including Grouchella and an Übergrouch) and some Anything Muppets.

After her short-lived Sesame career, she got her own (ALF-like) show called "Leonie Löwenherz" on ARD, featuring herself, her two lion brothers, and a few human characters.

The theme song for Sesamstraße is "Der, die, das", whose melody and lyrics have little resemblance to the English version on Sesame Street.