| abstract | - The show's theme song is sung by the German singer Nena, of "99 Red Balloons" fame. The episodes are directed by the regular Sesamstrasse directors Jojo Wolff and Dirk Nabersberg. Episodes are usually available to be watched online as well, and remain so for 30 days after they air (or re-air). The first season, consisting of 26 episodes, finished filming in July and debuted on October 23, 2010, on children's TV network KIKA. As side characters, it featured three crazy chickens. Wolke, a human friend to the duo explaining the world around them, was played by Wolke Hegenbarth, and replaced by Friederike Linke as Rike for the second to fourth seasons, with Julia Stinshoff taking over halfway through season four as her Sesamstrasse alter ego Julia. A second season was produced in 2011, adding another 26 episodes to the lineup. Filming wrapped up in July, while the episodes debuted in October on KIKA, showing two episodes back to back. For the second season, the reappearing chickens were replaced by pigs. Special guests this season included Bert and Ernie. The third season began production in February of 2012. As far as side characters go, season three features female donkey Marie, as well as a rabbit and several woodland critters such as a squirrel, a raccoon, and a woodpecker. Bert and Ernie will also make another appearance. The season debuted on October 16, 2012, airing the first 13 episodes, with the second half to follow in March of 2013 in the form of a 100-minutes long two-part TV movie, titled Das Geheimnis der Blumenfabrik. Season four was produced in early to mid-2014. It includes a five-part pirate-story, appearances by a chick and its mother hen, a robotic horse, as well as special guest appearances by Grover (as a police officer, an ice cream vendor, and Super Grover) and Cookie Monster (as a judge). German celebrity guest spots include comedians Jochen Busse as a mysterious count, Wigald Boning as an overstrained photographer, Ingolf Lück as magician Canneloni, as well as series regular Friederike Linke als Rike and new friend Julia Stinshoff as Julia. The season, consisting of 21 regular episodes and five special episodes (the pirate storyline, which will also air separately as a TV movie), premiered on October 2, 2014 on KIKA. Season five was produced in early to mid-2016, after a full year of the spin-off being on hiatus. It includes a multiple-part Time travel storyline, and premiered in October 2016 on KIKA. Season six is slated for production in early 2018, with a release date later that year. The first three multiple-parters/movies of the show were released individually on DVD in 2017. This includes the crime story Das Geheimnis der Blumenfabrik, the pirate tale Der Schatz des Käpt'n Karotte and the time travel story Die Zeitmaschine. The same year, the show received its own spin-off: Pizza mit Biss.
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