by Nick Ferro, Editor
It’s time to visit Siftpop! It’s time to click the link! It’s time to read my review of The Muppet Show on Disney+! I guess there’s a reason I don’t work for Seth Rogan, the newest executive producer to attempt a Muppet Show reboot. It has been several years since the last attempt but unlike last time, this time they aren’t trying to capture the social media, internet obsessed youths, they are going back to basics! …again, again. No for real this time!
As Kermit jokes, in a particularly funny self-own, this isn’t the first time they’ve tried a reboot, and it really will depend on this singular “quasi-pilot” episode to determine if this new reboot will yield a full series pick-up. Which certainly is odd, especially for today’s streaming model. For Disney to take a risk, with what I can only imagine is a fairly costly experiment and only produce one episode for a “special event,” makes me feel like maybe it was Gonzo making the financial decisions this time around. Not to say I’m not grateful for someone to be making another attempt, I’m just flabbergasted that we aren’t getting a typical pilot + 10 episode pick up before finding out if they will be renewed for a full season. And if social media buzz is to be believed, this gamble might have paid off! Sitting, as of this writing, on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics’ score of 97% and a 99% audience score, Disney would be nuts to not give the show the full chance it deserves. But they clearly won’t being doing so while the iron is hot. I can only hope that this small amount of goodwill can see them through to the next episode… Whenever that might be.
I think my biggest take away from this new version of The Muppet Show is that it doesn’t try to cram in too much content, just in case they don’t get another chance. There is even a funny running sketch indicating that they overbooked the show and something will have to be cut. Which brings me to the actual content of the show itself. There are a few musical numbers starring the Muppets and there are two staring the special guest, Sabrina Carpenter, who was not only a delight, but able and willing to make some jokes for her older audience that went right over my kid’s heads. On top of that, like the original show, Carpenter gets to act in a few “backstage” scenes with Kermit and Miss Piggy who, in my opinion, was the MVP of the special. Piggy is not always a character who I love seeing get the spotlight but when balanced just right between being the delightful narcissist and the butt of the joke there is a winning combination that I think they nailed this time around. If I had to call out one fault of the show, Fozzie and Gonzo were underused, despite their roles feeling like an homage to the original Muppet Show. I won’t lie, the epic run in the 90s of Gonzo (and Rizzo) being front and center in most projects has made me a life long Gonzo-stan. So, seeing him back to being a minor side character brought my personal enjoyment down ever so slightly. However, with only a 30-minute runtime it was an understandable sacrifice. They had a lot to do and ultimately lived up to the old showbiz adage of, “always leave them wanting more.”
To paint a more accurate picture of my Muppet feelings, I have been saying for years that Disney doesn’t know what to do with the Muppets. They have fumbled their ownership of these beloved characters quite significantly in the past and where they have sometimes been able to produce something worth watching, more times than not they have fallen short of the mark. I think what it comes down to is that they never seem to pick the right person to produce the project. Sure, everyone loves the Muppets, but not everyone loves the Muppets to the point of understanding them. Some people are just fans who want to work with them. Not to say that being a fan isn’t admirable, but I think in order for the Muppets to work you have to have a more fundamental understanding of WHY the Muppets work. I believe Jason Segal understood that and as a result he managed to make the best Muppet movie since Muppet Treasure Island. And despite the small sample size, I think, Seth Rogan might seems to have the right mindset too.
This new iteration is not only a faithful adaptation but also a perfect blending of original show. Right off the bat the show felt authentic and yet modern, unlike previous attempts. As much as I appreciated some of the humor of 2015’s The Muppets., it was trying too hard to take the Muppet characters out of their element in an attempt to attract a different, more broad, audience. Rather than trying to make something authentic to the Muppets, they turned off their core audience which resulted in losing viewership. They did attempt to course correct mid-production, but by that point they had hemorrhaged too much of their audience to survive. This problem is a frequent one that Disney has run into time and time again. I personally hated their attempt at synergy with Muppets Haunted Mansion because it was so clearly not an attempt to make something good, just an attempt to cross promote two Disney properties with celebrities under Disney contracts. The 70s variety format feels like a great way to re-integrate these characters into the mainstream media. Get them in a place that feels familiar and slowly incorporate more modern content that way. Let the Muppet humor be the guide. Silly puns, play on words, misunderstandings, pratfalls, random irreverent humor. A Bridgerton-style sketch with a Pig and a Prawn is funny, but having the Pepe thrown into the sketch, last minute, is an element of humor that takes the joke to the next level.
Was this the most rip-roaringly hilarious Muppet project to date? No, not even close, but it was an excellent pilot episode with plenty of good laughs and enough potential to fill a historical theater, saved from the likes of Tex Richman. This was a great time for the whole family! My kids had more fun that I did. They love the Muppets from the movies, but the old Muppet Show was too much of it’s time to really grab them. I can only hope that this new Muppet Show will be the thing that inspires the next generation of fans. Because, as my 13-year-old daughter said after watching, “if this does well, I hope they make a ‘Muppet Princess Bride.’” And isn’t that something we all deserve?
Rating: High Side of Liked It
The Muppet Show (2026) is currently streaming on Disney+.
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