{"id":445518,"date":"2026-01-31T16:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/445518\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T16:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:51:11","slug":"the-muppet-show-this-thrilling-return-is-so-great-i-cant-even-count-how-many-times-i-laughed-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/445518\/","title":{"rendered":"The Muppet Show: this thrilling return is so great I can\u2019t even count how many times I laughed | Television"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Muppet Show is back! We need this, don\u2019t we? We need them. The TV show ended in 1981, yet decades later, memes of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal et al still circulate. We give their movies Oscars. Their version of A Christmas Carol<\/a> is a non-negotiable tradition for anyone with sense. Jim Henson\u2019s furry anarchists bring us together like few things can. As a beady eyed fun-sponge, I can\u2019t help but wonder \u2013 why?<\/p>\n

In an 1810 essay, German poet Heinrich von Kleist argued that puppets demonstrate pure grace: a weightless unself-consciousness that humans long for but never achieve. He was talking about marionettes, suspended from strings. Yet Muppets are hand puppets; extensions of a body. They have weight. As for grace, have you seen how Kermit moves? His arms flap, and he bounces vertically, while moving forwards. It\u2019s hard to imagine a less efficient walk. That frog, he silly.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we love them. Do we not, too, know ourselves to be odd, hapless psychological caricatures? Do our plans not also lead to flaming wreckage? Do we not long to put on a vaudeville-style variety show in a classic theatre?<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the 2026 Muppet Show (Disney+, from Wednesday 4 February), with executive producer Seth Rogen<\/a> on board. It\u2019s a one-off, but could lead to a whole new series, the trailer reveals, \u201cdepending on how tonight goes\u201d. Happily, it hasn\u2019t been updated so Fozzie is doing bits on TikTok, or Rowlf protesting about streaming royalties. The guys are still trying to put on that variety show, and it\u2019s\u00a0still all going wrong.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Something I love about these geniuses made of rod and felt is their lack of false modesty. They know we love them. Every famous person in the world would kill to be on the Muppets (though what a horrific negotiation). They turn this popularity to farce: producer Kermit replies to every act who expresses interest in appearing, \u201cThat sounds like fun!\u201d It\u2019s a polite way of saying no, he confides to stage manager Scooter. \u201cThat\u2019s very indirect,\u201d responds Scooter, with misgivings.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the overstuffed running order runs into crisis, with cuts needing to be made, a disaster for any fragile egos in the vicinity. At least guest star Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> is unflappable. Like Rogen, the former Disney channel child is a perfect fit. She gets in a saucy joke with a straight face, doesn\u2019t upstage the real stars and proves herself game. Or fowl, given her musical number backed up by a\u00a0bunch of hens.<\/p>\n

Unflappable \u2026 Seth Rogen in The Muppet Show. Photograph: Disney+<\/p>\n

A highlight is when Carpenter meets Miss Piggy, gushing how she has always loved her, and even copied her look. \u201cMy attorneys have taken note,\u201d Piggy replies primly. The porcine diva is energetic throughout, trotting backstage to announce to anyone present that she is \u201con vocal rest\u201d. Protecting her place in the running order, she undertakes a water-based romantic rescue mission, which culminates in a bisexual rug-pull moment. She\u2019s doing a lot.<\/p>\n

Even the show within the show is good. Expect toe-tapping needle drops old and new. Skits include period-drama parody Pigs in Wigs, and a science segment about screen\u00a0time, which ends with Beaker losing his eyes. Unlike Sesame Street, where the Muppets also appear, there is no educational agenda. The agenda is\u00a0electric\u00a0mayhem.<\/p>\n

The Muppets have always been subversive. I thrill to the meta winks, comic timing, the sheer weirdness of this world. There\u2019s a throwaway bit in which audience member Maya Rudolph<\/a> dies and apparently goes to hell; it\u2019s one of the sweetest things I\u2019ve seen. Given that young people love choreographed K-pop and makeup tutorials, I wonder if nostalgic parents are now the primary audience. The kids may be just an\u00a0alibi for them to watch.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s resident theatre critics, Statler and Waldorf, remain unmoved by the Muppets. (The fact\u00a0they live in a box, and have never missed a show, suggest a resentful dependence.) They are my spiritual teachers, yet here we must part company. This show isn\u2019t half bad; it\u2019s all great. In 30\u00a0minutes, I laughed more than I can count. In the end, it doesn\u2019t matter why we love the Muppets. Joy needn\u2019t be dissected, like a frog on the table. It\u2019s meant to be felt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Muppet Show is back! We need this, don\u2019t we? We need them. The TV show ended in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,348],"class_list":["post-445518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}