''The Muppets'' (stylized as ''the muppets.'') is an American
sitcom that originally aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from September 22, 2015 to March 1, 2016. Co-created by
Bill Prady
William Scott Prady (born June 7, 1960) is an American television writer and producer who has worked on American sitcoms and variety programs, including '' Married... with Children'', '' Dream On'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''Dharma & Greg'', ' ...
and
Bob Kushell
Bob Kushell is an American television writer and producer. He has written for network television comedies including ''The Simpsons'', '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', '' Malcolm in the Middle'', ''Grounded For Life'', '' American Dad!'', ''Samantha Wh ...
, the series was produced by
ABC Studios and
The Muppets Studio
The Muppets Studio, LLC, formerly The Muppets Holding Company, LLC, is a wholly owned entertainment subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, formed in 2004 through The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of ''The Muppets'' and ''Bear i ...
, with
Randall Einhorn and Muppet performer
Bill Barretta serving as executive producers alongside Prady and Kushell.
On May 12, 2016, ABC cancelled the series after one season.
The series is set in
Los Angeles and depicts the everyday personal and professional lives of
The Muppets during production of ''Up Late with Miss Piggy'', a fictional
late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
starring
Miss Piggy''.''
''The Muppets'' serves as a
parody of other
mockumentary-style series, such as ''
The Office'', ''
Modern Family'', and ''
Parks and Recreation
''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...
'' by employing the same
single-camera setup filming style with the implication of a documentary crew filming everyone.
[ The series stars Muppet performers Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz in multiple roles.
]
Background
The series marks the characters' first ongoing prime-time network television series since '' Muppets Tonight'' was cancelled in 1998. ''The Muppets'' was picked up by ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, the same network that aired ''Muppets Tonight''—as the characters, the network, and the production companies are all owned by The Walt Disney Company—on the ABC network schedule.
This marks the second time Prady has attempted to revive The Muppets. Before co-creating CBS' '' The Big Bang Theory'', the writer-producer shot some test footage on which ABC ultimately passed. Prady's history with The Muppets dates back to his work on '' Fraggle Rock'' in 1987. His previous writing credits for Muppet productions include the '' Muppet*Vision 3D'' attraction at Walt Disney World, and the tribute special ''The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
''The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson'' is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infecti ...
'', which earned Prady an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination in 1991.
Executive producer Bob Kushell explained the intention behind the series; "We have the opportunity to explore these characters as individuals with their own emotional lives that are separate from each other and aren't shadowed by each other's presence, as I think they have been for the last 20 years... it's not just a behind-the-scenes look at a show, but it's the relationship-driven, emotional stories that people go through in their personal lives. Everyone in this version of The Muppets wants to push them further in a way they've never been before." Kushell added, "Rightfully or wrongfully, The Muppets became more of a kids' product over the years. We want to bring them all the way back to what they were intended to be and then some. But never so much that anyone has to explain anything uncomfortable to their kids."[
]
Cast and characters
Main cast
* Steve Whitmire as:
** Kermit the Frog, the show's executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
and Denise's boyfriend.
** Rizzo the Rat, one of Gonzo's staff writers.
** Beaker, Bunsen's frazzled assistant.
** Statler, a heckler and audience member of ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''.
** Lips, the trumpet player of The Electric Mayhem, the show's house band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment.
It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
.
** The Muppet Newsman
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, a local news presenter who operates in a nearby studio.
** Foo-Foo, Miss Piggy's pet Bichon Frise.
** Link Hogthrob
* Eric Jacobson as:
** Miss Piggy, the eponymous host of ''Up Late with Miss Piggy'' and Kermit's former significant other.
** Fozzie Bear, a struggling comedian and Piggy's on-air announcer, sidekick and warm-up comic.[
** Animal, the crazed drummer of The Electric Mayhem.][
** ]Sam Eagle
Sam Eagle, or Sam the Eagle, or Sam the American Eagle, is a Muppet character best known for his ultra-patriotism and disciplined manner of being. Sam originated on the television show ''The Muppet Show'', where he was performed by Frank Oz. ...
, the head executive of broadcast standards and practices for ABC.[
**]Marvin Suggs
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
* Dave Goelz as:
** Gonzo, the head writer of the show.
** Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is a Muppet character from ''The Muppet Show'', performed by Dave Goelz. He is a bald, yellow-skinned, bespectacled, lab-coated scientist who presented periodic science segments from "Muppet Labs, where the future is being mad ...
, a freelance scientist in charge of the show's special effects and the prop department.
** Waldorf, a heckler and audience member of ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''.
** Zoot, the reserved saxophone player of The Electric Mayhem.
** Chip, an IT technician An information systems technician is a technician of an industrial occupation whose responsibility is maintaining communications and computer systems.
Description
Information systems technicians operate and maintain information systems, facilitatin ...
.
** Beauregard, the studio janitor.
* Bill Barretta as:
** Pepe the King Prawn, one of Gonzo's staff writers.
** Rowlf the Dog, the owner of Rowlf's Tavern, a night bar across the street from the studio.
**Bobo the Bear
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, the show's stage manager.[
** Dr. Teeth, keyboard player and lead vocalist of The Electric Mayhem.]
** The Swedish Chef
The Swedish Chef is a Muppet character that appeared on ''The Muppet Show''. He was originally performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously, with Henson performing the head and voice and Oz performing the character with real hands. The S ...
, a chef who is in charge of the show's craft services.
**Big Mean Carl
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, the receptionist for ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''.
** Bubba the Rat
** Howard Tubman
* David Rudman as:
** Scooter, the show's talent coordinator and associate producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...
.
** Janice, the lead guitar player of The Electric Mayhem.
* Matt Vogel as:
** Uncle Deadly, Miss Piggy's wardrobe supervisor.
** Floyd Pepper, the bass player for The Electric Mayhem.
** Sweetums
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, the show's cue card operator.
** Lew Zealand
** Crazy Harry
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
**Camilla the Chicken
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, Gonzo's reunited girlfriend
**Robin the Frog
The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...
, Kermit's nephew.
** Pops
Pops may refer to:
Name or nickname
* Pops, an informal term of address for a father or elder
* Pops (nickname), a list of people
* Pops (Muppet), a Muppets character
* Pops (Johnny Bravo), a character from the Cartoon Network animated televisio ...
* Peter Linz as:
**Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
, a fan of the Muppets who only appears in the First Look Presentation.
** Gloria Estefan, a Magellanic penguin chick who has a fondness for drinking martinis. He was adopted by Miss Piggy during her trip to Argentina and quickly forms a bond with Uncle Deadly.
Recurring cast
* Julianne Buescher as:
** Denise, a pig who works as a network marketer and is Kermit's girlfriend.
** Yolanda Rat, Kermit's assistant who is good friends with Rizzo.
**Debbie, Gonzo's online girlfriend
* Riki Lindhome as Becky, Fozzie's human girlfriend. She was previously played by Margo Harshman in the First Look Presentation.
* Layla Alizada
Layla Alizada ( fa, لیلا علیزاده; born August 10, 1977) is a Canadian actress, who is best known for appearing in guest roles in some well-known American television shows, including ''The Muppets'' and ''Jane the Virgin,'' as well as r ...
as Betty, the Hair and Makeup Specialist at ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''.
* Nilla Watkins as Kim, the production assistant at ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''.
* June Diane Raphael
June Diane Raphael ( ; born January 4, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs ''Burning Love'', Adult Swim's '' NTSF:SD:SUV::'', and ''Grace and Frankie''. Notable film work includes support ...
as Lucy Royce, the president of ABC.
* Utkarsh Ambudkar as Pizza (pronounced "Pache"), a "branding guru" who is appointed by the network to re-brand ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''. He previously branded Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele
Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...
, Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
, some warlord, and others. He is constantly trying to get The Muppets to do what he wants for the show, and will go as far as to sabotage them if they don't. In episode 15, however, Sweetums, Rizzo, Pepe, and a few others reform him.
Episodes
Production
Bill Prady
William Scott Prady (born June 7, 1960) is an American television writer and producer who has worked on American sitcoms and variety programs, including '' Married... with Children'', '' Dream On'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''Dharma & Greg'', ' ...
originated the idea to bring The Muppets back to prime-time television and enlisted Bob Kushell
Bob Kushell is an American television writer and producer. He has written for network television comedies including ''The Simpsons'', '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', '' Malcolm in the Middle'', ''Grounded For Life'', '' American Dad!'', ''Samantha Wh ...
as co-creator and showrunner for the project, allowing Prady to concurrently continue performing his duties as executive producer on ''The Big Bang Theory'', which CBS had renewed through its tenth season, for the 2016–17 season. Before ABC was approached, Netflix expressed interest in co-producing the series as part of its original programming roster.
''The Muppets'' was considered a "stealth, late presentation" in the 2015 comedy development season. After buying Prady and Kushell's pitch, ABC ordered a pilot script and a 10-minute proof of concept filmed presentation, which was filmed at the Walt Disney Studios in May and delivered just in time for ABC schedule consideration. On May 7, 2015, ABC greenlit the series to order as an entry in the 2015–16 television season. The pitch presentation, which was first screened to the public on July 11, 2015, at Comic-Con to an overwhelmingly positive response, was released online on July 21, 2015. In regards to what Muppet characters to include, 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, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
and on-location throughout Los Angeles. Sets must be raised four and a half feet so that the Muppet performers will have room to operate the characters, and all sets have platforms which can be moved. ''The Muppets'' received a full 16-episode season from ABC on October 29, 2015.
In early November 2015, it was announced that Kushell was leaving the series, with Kristen Newman in talks to replace him. The move was reportedly part of a creative overhaul of the series, which saw the final six episodes of the first season act as a relaunch of the show. Newman began work during production of the tenth episode, which involved her rewriting the Miss Piggy-Kermit scenes to "bring heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
connection back... that was being walked away from completely" in the early episodes. Newman also hoped to introduce more serialized elements to the series. However, ABC cancelled ''The Muppets'' on May 12, 2016 after one season.
After being dismissed from The Muppets performer troupe in 2016, Steve Whitmire talked to the media about how he provided notes on scripts for the series, saying that the longtime performers know the characters best. He cited the episode "Little Green Lie" as an example of how he felt the characters were being scripted wrong, noting:
ABC cancelled the series in May 2016, "after a midseason show runner change failed to turn around disappointing ratings." Daniel Holloway from '' Variety'' added the series had "underperformed following a massive marketing campaign", and noted how "critics derided the series as not family-friendly enough and out of step with the history of the characters".
Broadcast
''The Muppets'' premiered on September 22, 2015 on ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in the United States. It was broadcast on Sky 1 in the UK, starting Monday October 19, 2015. The series was also acquired by the Seven Network in Australia and premiered on December 29, 2015.
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregate website Metacritic, ''The Muppets'' has a metascore of 62 out of 100, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 64%, based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 6.46/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''The Muppets'' brings new energy to a beloved franchise—and although longtime fans may be taken aback by the show's adult mockumentary approach, the classic characters retain their essential spirit." '' The Washington Post''s Hank Stuever complimented the series, calling it "a smart and often witty update to the Muppet brand," giving it a "B". Merrill Barr of '' Forbes'' wrote a negative review, stating, "By taking these creatures and turning them into 'real' people, the only way to make them funny becomes having them do outlandish things. The only problem is they're inherently outlandish just by existing, so everything they do just feels tame and lifeless by comparison." Dominic Patten of '' Deadline Hollywood'' negatively compared the series to '' Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''. Brian Lowry of '' Variety'' gave a more mixed reaction, calling it "something of a mixed bag", praising the humor, but criticizing the subplot of Fozzie dating a human woman. On the other hand, Dorothy Rabinowitz
Dorothy Rabinowitz is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and commentator.
She was born in New York City, and attained a bachelor's degree at Queens College. She worked toward a doctorate at New York University from 1957 to 1960, but did ...
of '' The Wall Street Journal'' was more positive toward the series. She wrote, "As soon as you begin watching the new ''Muppets'' the question arises—how come no one thought of this before? So perfect is the idea of a late-night talk show called ''Up Late with Miss Piggy'' one has to wonder."
Criticism
The group One Million Moms
The American Family Association (AFA) is a Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States. , an offshoot of the American Family Association
The American Family Association (AFA) is a Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States. , began protesting ''The Muppets'', citing it as "unsuitable for family viewing", and calling for boycotts against it immediately after ABC picked it up, long before the series debuted. ''The Muppets'' later parodied One Million Moms' critique in their twelfth episode, "A Tail of Two Piggies", as the One Million Angry Parents Association represented by three protesters.
The Parents Television Council also criticized the series for not meeting "family viewing" guidelines and suggested a boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
, based on the mockumentary format of the series including mentions of plastic surgery, "inside" business language being used in a crude manner, and the Muppets in a bar consuming alcoholic beverages.
Accolades
Ratings
Notes
This number represents the number of views the First Look Presentation received on YouTube () since ABC officially released it on July 21, 2015.
Episodes premiere one day earlier on City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in Canada.
References
External links
*
*
''The Muppets'' (2015)
at Muppet Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muppets (TV series), The
2010s American mockumentary television series
2010s American parody television series
2010s American single-camera sitcoms
2010s American workplace comedy television series
2015 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
The Muppets television series
American television shows featuring puppetry
Television series about television
Television series by ABC Studios
Television shows filmed in Los Angeles
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Television series created by Bill Prady