It's a sad day for many adults who grew up with Bob, Luis and Gordon, three of the roster of adults who helped populate "Sesame Street."
Bob McGrath announced during Florida Supercon that the three characters have essentially been evicted.
McGrath, Roscoe Orman ("Gordon") and Emilio Delgado ("Luis") had been part of the cast for much of its run, McGrath having been with the show since its 1969 premiere.
Pay-cable network HBO recently took over the rights to air first-run episodes of the preschoolers' series from PBS, which still airs the show, albeit nine months after each episode premieres on cable.
McGrath's comments on his job status and HBO's involvement with the series on "The Muppet Cast" podcast led to a statement released Thursday by Sesame Workshop, producers of the series:
"Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content, curriculum, and hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children," the statement said in part. "As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years."
Sesame Workshop also said in their statement that HBO does not oversee production of the series.
The release of McGrath, Orman and Delgado comes several months after another longtime cast member, Sonia Manzano, who played "Maria," retired in 2015 after 44 years with the program.