The Muppets (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series was broadcast on Sky 1 in the UK starting October 19, 2015.
• The Seven Network in Australia premiered the series on December 29, 2015.

Background

The series marks the Muppets' first ongoing prime-time network television series since Muppets Tonight (1996–1998). ABC, which also aired Muppets Tonight, picked up the show; the network and production companies are owned by The Walt Disney Company. This is the second time Bill Prady worked on a Muppets revival; before co-creating The Big Bang Theory, he had shot test footage on which ABC passed. Prady's history with the Muppets includes work on Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series, the Muppet*Vision 3D attraction, and the tribute special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, for which he earned an Emmy nomination. Executive producer Bob Kushell stated the intention was to explore the characters as individuals with emotional lives separate from each other, not just a behind-the-scenes look at a show. He added that the Muppets had become more of a kids' product over the years and the series aimed to bring them back to their original intent without making anything uncomfortable for children.

Cast and characters

Steve Whitmire performs Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Statler, Lips, the Muppet Newsman, Foo-Foo, and Link Hogthrob. Eric Jacobson performs Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle, and Marvin Suggs. Dave Goelz performs Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf, Zoot, Chip, and Beauregard. Bill Barretta performs Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the Bear, Dr. Teeth, the Swedish Chef, Big Mean Carl, Bubba the Rat, and Howard Tubman.

David Rudman performs Scooter and Janice. Matt Vogel performs Uncle Deadly, Floyd Pepper, Sweetums, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken, Robin the Frog, and Pops. Peter Linz performs Walter and Gloria Estefan, a Magellanic penguin chick adopted by Miss Piggy. Julianne Buescher performs Denise, a pig who works as a network marketer and is Kermit's girlfriend; Yolanda Rat; and Debbie, Gonzo's online girlfriend. Riki Lindhome plays Becky, Fozzie's human girlfriend.

Production

Bill Prady originated the idea to bring the Muppets back to prime-time television and enlisted Bob Kushell as co-creator and showrunner. Before ABC was approached, Netflix expressed interest in co-producing the series. After buying the pitch, ABC ordered a pilot script and a 10-minute proof of concept filmed presentation, shot at Walt Disney Studios in May. On May 7, 2015, ABC greenlit the series for the 2015–16 season.

The pitch presentation was screened at Comic-Con on July 11, 2015, to an overwhelmingly positive response, and released online on July 21, 2015. Producers decided to omit extremely anthropomorphic characters such as talking vegetables and dancing chickens. The series was shot at Stages 6 and 7 of the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank and on-location in Los Angeles; sets were raised four and a half feet for Muppet performers. ABC ordered a full 16-episode season on October 29, 2015.

In early November 2015, Kushell left the series and Kristen Newman was in talks to replace him, part of a creative overhaul for the final six episodes. Newman rewrote Miss Piggy-Kermit scenes to bring back their connection. ABC cancelled the series on May 12, 2016 after one season. Steve Whitmire later said he provided notes on scripts, citing the episode Little Green Lie as an example of characters being scripted wrong.

Reception

On Metacritic, The Muppets has a score of 62 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 64% rating with an average of 6.46/10; the critical consensus states the series brings new energy to the franchise and retains the characters' essential spirit despite the adult mockumentary approach. The Washington Post's Hank Stuever called it a smart and often witty update, giving it a B. Forbes' Merrill Barr wrote a negative review, arguing that turning the creatures into real people makes them feel tame.

Deadline Hollywood's Dominic Patten negatively compared the series to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Variety's Brian Lowry gave a mixed reaction, praising the humor but criticizing the subplot of Fozzie dating a human woman. The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz was more positive, questioning why no one had thought of the concept before. The conservative group One Million Moms protested the series as unsuitable for family viewing before it debuted; the series later parodied the critique in the episode A Tail of Two Piggies.

The Parents Television Council also criticized the series for not meeting family viewing guidelines, citing mentions of plastic surgery, crude business language, and Muppets consuming alcohol.