Starring: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Rowlf the Dog, and special guests Sabrina Carpenter, Seth Rogen, Maya Rudolph
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Duration: 32 mins
It’s time to raise the curtain on the sublime silliness that is The Muppets. Last year they celebrated 70 years since their creation and 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of ‘The Muppet Show’ (1976-1981).
The original incarnation was a staple for children on both sides of the Atlantic (the original show was filmed in the UK and broadcast on ITV). I arrived to The Muppets slightly later in the 1990s with their gang busting and faithful adaptations of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Treasure Island’ and between then and now they have never really gone away.
That being said their most recent adventures haven’t ignited the audience or seemingly the Disney executives enough to get them past a first season. It is very exciting for me to be able to say that this reboot of ‘The Muppet Show’ works where others have failed.
The success of this pilot (as Kermit says depending on how the night goes it could mean we see them more regularly at the Muppet Theatre) is that it doesn’t try anything new at all. It feels like the previous 40 years since it was last on has disappeared and this is just the next episode. It isn’t littered with over sentimentality or call backs and just maintains the chaotic nature the original show had. We get all the moments we love (Gonzo’s weird death defying stunts, Muppet Labs and spoofs of current tv shows) and no extra fat. At a runtime of 32 minutes there’s no time for too much navel gazing as Rowlf the Dog says to Kermit at the start – ‘We’re doing the show again frog!’
Sabrina Carpenter makes an incredible guest for the show bringing so much fun and more than a few tongue in cheek and nod to the audience moments that fit right in with her felted co-stars. Seth Rogen (who is the executive producer here) and Maya Rudolph arrive to add a little bit more sparkle to proceedings but it is The Muppets (as it should be) who hold the spotlight for the run time.
I really hope that it isn’t another 40 years before we are all sat in front of another episode of ‘The Muppet Show’ as in today’s climate I think the world could do with more Muppets.
The Muppet Show is currently available to screen on Disney+