"The Muppet Show" 2026 (News and Discussion)

[wonderfly]

From the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Disney Raises The Curtain On Longer Muppet Show Special Peek"​

"In about a month from now, it will be time to play the music and light the lights once more. For one night only, The Muppet Theater re-opens its doors to play to what Disney hopes will be a sold-out crowd on broadcast and streaming.

Kermit, no stranger to fourth wall breaks, admits the exact situation: “It’s the return of The Muppet Show back on the very stage where it all started, and then ended, and is maybe starting again, depending on how the night goes.” Indeed, Disney intends to use the performance of this special as a gauge to determine if pursuing a full revival is something that’d attract an audience."

Read the full article here.

 

[Frontier]

I will never say no to more Muppets .

 

[Daikun]

It's out now. What did everyone think of it?

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Though I may have probably caught most of Muppet Family Christmas when I was very young (which wound up becoming sort of a tradition with my family for ages) it was when Muppet Babies came to Nick Jr. did I become entrenched in the Muppets and first associate that version of them as probably my most nostalgic. Luckily Nickelodeon also aired the original Muppet show on Nick Junior and I do remember any time I was able to as a kid catching that block and really digging both shows for a variety of reasons. With the Muppet show it was well the variety and behind the scenes insanity that I really got into that made me love it and though I probably didn't catch every episode and only remember really a few numbers and bits (one of them was Elton John's performance of "Benny and the Jets") it was still a great series. And I always found it weird that we have gone so long without bringing back the overall Muppet show series since 1981. Like I get Henson wanting to move on and do other things but yeah when the Muppets got other series throughout the years they all tried various differing ideas and though I don't think any of them fully 100% bombed (like The 2015 Muppets show isn't awful even I get some people's complaints about it) it is weird they never went back to this format. Granted variety shows aren't as much a thing now for the most part but I think exceptions can be made for those kinds of characters that have stood the test of time and thankfully Disney at least allowed them one very solid and enjoyable special to show this kind of thing can still work now.

Honestly I really only have a couple of problems with it. I do feel some of the Muppets got a bit unfairly shafted. I mean Robin getting a line is at least a hell of a lot better then how he was treated in Muppets Most Wanted but yeah really feels weird there was so little done with Fozzie. He had a great bit cutting Seth Rogen ("but I'm an executive producer" "when you can executive produce yourself out of the series") but feel bad he didn't really get any sort of act. Like I don't think for the anniversary back Pepe should have MORE screentime then Fozzie that feels wrong. I'm also a bit split on the shmaltzy kind of ending. Like the actual performance works but I don't know for like only a half hour special don't know if we needed some emotional "Kermit feels down and has to lift everyone's spirits" sort of ending.

Still the rest of it really works. Kudos to Sabrina Carpenter for really feeling in line with this special as her performance of "Manchild" (especially with the Chickens then getting their feathers blown off... hmmmm would it have made more sense to play "Feather" then which I guess is an older could be a bit more cruder song but eh that's just nitpicking semantics) and then duet with Kermit and later Piggy did show her singing chops well but her interactions behind the scenes was amusing. I am glad that my personal favorite muppet Gonzo (who I always enjoyed since Muppet Babies) got a sketch and him constantly blowing past saying random women who he assumes are former first ladies is a great bit. Rizzo's take on "Blinding Lights" especially in not letting the actual behind the scenes failing of the lights worked well and I appreciate giving bits for Honeydew and Beaker and even the newscaster. The idea too that Kermit wound up getting acts from everyone who is excited to perform for the special and not wanting to admit to all of them most would have to be cut was good and again though the idea behind it didn't sell me the performance of "Don't Stop Me now" was still good.

Like this does show this idea still has promsie and hopefully the ratings through D+ or even on ABC convince them to do more as i still feels there's an audience for Muppets doing what they do best.

 

[LinusFan303]

I really enjoyed the new special. I appreciate that ABC aired the entire intro, no cut theme here, and that we still get a full intro. It felt like a new episode of the old show. It flowed well and liked they kept it still focused on the Muppets and not overly on the celeb appearances. There wasn't a missing beat to me. Need more.

 

[Golden Geek]

I wasn't huge on the sketches, but it was nice seeing the general dynamic of the Muppets all together, and Sabrina seemed to naturally fit into the environment. (She's about their size, so...hey, she made that quip, it's okay if I repeat it!) Whatever they do in post to Vogel's voice seems to fix his clear inability to do a Kermit impression from interviews.

It would be great to get more, though I don't know how naturally it fits onto the ABC lineup - it could be a Disney+ original with reruns on Disney Channel.

 

[LinusFan303]

I wasn't huge on the sketches, but it was nice seeing the general dynamic of the Muppets all together, and Sabrina seemed to naturally fit into the environment. (She's about their size, so...hey, she made that quip, it's okay if I repeat it!) Whatever they do in post to Vogel's voice seems to fix his clear inability to do a Kermit impression from interviews.

It would be great to get more, though I don't know how naturally it fits onto the ABC lineup - it could be a Disney+ original with reruns on Disney Channel.

It would fit well on the ABC Sunday night line up after America's Funniest Home Videos. It would be better on a broadcast network for a broad audience. Wednesday even seemed to be a good fit, that's their comedy night anyway.

 

[wonderfly]

The News Team's LinusFan303 has a new review up on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Review: “The Muppet Show” (2026): A Big Return, for One TIme Only?"​

"The Muppets have been with us a long time, and they’ve been in different forms from commercials to television shows, movies, and even comics, but the probably one of the most beloved Muppet productions is “The Muppet Show”. The Muppet Show ran from 1976 to 1981 where Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and the rest graced TV screens and brought laughs and heart. So, in the era of everything being brought back, why not bring it back? We got that answer.

“The Muppet Show” back! (for one time only, for now?) On February 4, ABC and Disney+ premiered a brand new special. This special brought back the series format and style with our modern HD television screens. It felt like the show hadn’t been off the air ever. The special was produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg working with the Jim Henson Studio to bring back a perfectly crafted time."

Read the full review here.