Fans of the Muppets have been treated to many short-lived efforts to keep them relevant in recent years.
Jason Segel’s The Muppets (2011) film seemed to have the right idea, but the cinematic franchise stalled out after the weaker, Segel-less follow up, Muppets Most Wanted (2014).
There were decent, funny TV shows (Muppets Now in 2020, The Muppets Mayhem in 2023) that failed to catch fire—and let’s not forget my personal favorite, the excellent special Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021). Lukewarm audience receptions led to Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog being unemployed for large swaths of time.
Now, executive producer (and Segel’s pal) Seth Rogen has stepped in with a simple concept: Go back to the beginning, and re-create the variety show pioneered by Jim Henson that began its classic five-year run 50 years ago.
The results are magnificent. As in the classic show, this is an assemblage of comedy skits and musical numbers set in the vintage Muppets theater, complete with red curtains and the two old guys complaining from their box seats. Sabrina Carpenter (also an executive producer) appears as the main guest star, with appearances from Rogen and Maya Rudolph. In the classic show, the audience was all Muppets. This time, it’s a mix of Muppets and real people. (I thought I saw Finneas O’Connell clapping away in some shots, but my eyes are probably playing tricks on me.)
This “special” is being treated as a backdoor pilot, meaning that if it does well, we may get more—perhaps an entire new series. Critics are going crazy for it, and it’s at the top of Disney+’s streaming chart.
It looks like a Muppet Show reboot may have been the solution the Muppets needed to get Animal drumming again on a more frequent basis. It hasn’t been renewed/greenlit yet (as of this writing) for more shows—but things are looking up.
