The Muppets Studio, LLC, formerly The Muppets Holding Company, LLC, is a wholly owned entertainment subsidiary of

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

, formed in 2004 through

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

's acquisition of ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

'' and ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...

intellectual properties Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

from

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

Background

In the late-1980s,

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

had been in talks with Disney

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film s ...

to sell

Jim Henson Productions The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known fo ...

to the Walt Disney Company. In August 1989, the two officially announced a deal for Disney to purchase Jim Henson Productions for $150 million. The deal fell through several months after Jim Henson's death in 1990. Despite the collapse of the merger deal, by 1992, Disney and Jim Henson Productions had already struck a number of deals: *Exclusive domestic rights to Henson theme park attractions in the western U.S. until May 1994 plus 2 year non-exclusively, including the design of two Muppet attractions at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

's worldwide distribution rights to Henson's 300 hours of programming and a financing deal for up to 3 home video projects *Certain cable television distribution rights for

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

until 1997 *International distribution rights for existing TV programming in free broadcast, cable or pay-per-view markets *Theatrical distribution for '' The Muppet Christmas Carol'' (1992) and ''

Muppet Treasure Island ''Muppet Treasure Island'' is a 1996 American musical swashbuckler comedy film directed by Brian Henson. It is the fifth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. Adapted from the 1883 novel ''Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson, ...

'' (1996) * ''Dinosaurs'' co-production *In 1996, the Jim Henson Company produced ''

Muppets Tonight ''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of ''The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989), the show was a contin ...

'' for ABC, which had just been acquired by Disney. The Henson family subsequently sold the entirety of the Jim Henson Company to German conglomerate

EM.TV ''Sport1 Medien AG'' (known as Constantin Medien AG until January 2020) is a media company based in Ismaning near Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. W ...

in 2000. In 2003, the Henson family repurchased The Jim Henson Company from EM.TV.

History

Muppets Holding Company

Eisner, still interested in the Muppet properties, re-opened negotiations with the Hensons and announced the purchase of ''The Muppets'' and ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' assets from

for $75 million on February 17, 2004. The acquired Muppet assets were then placed into The Muppets Holding Company with Chris Curtin as general manager within

Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Co ...

. One of the first appearances that the Muppets made after the purchase was on the TV special ''The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour'' in April 2004, starring

Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, actor, television personality, and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees, and later starred in the reality series '' Newl ...

and

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

. A new website was launched in November 2004 and the Muppets made an appearance on the 2004 Christmas episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

''. The first Muppet production under full Disney control, ''

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' is a 2005 musical fantasy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher. It is the second film to be made for television in ''The Muppets'' franchise. The film stars Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Quentin Tarantino, Davi ...

'', went into production immediately and aired on ABC in May 2005. On July 30, 2005, Animal and Pepe the King Prawn made appearance on The

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

11 Preview show of All Access on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

. Bear's first appearance under Disney's control was in the reality show, ''

Breakfast With Bear 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 ...

'' in 2005. A fiftieth birthday tour for Kermit, "Kermit's World Tour" was planned with leadership changes made just days before the tour began. The tour made its initial three stops before being canceled:

Kermit, Texas Kermit is a city in and the county seat of Winkler County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,708 at the 2010 census. The city was named after Kermit Roosevelt following a visit by his father, President Theodore Roosevelt, to the county. ...

;

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

tour; and cake with

The Rockettes The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the ...

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

, NYC. Following Eisner's exit from Disney, new CEO

Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...

removed the head of the Muppets Holding Company and several senior staff members hand-picked by Eisner. The Muppets Holding Company was then paired with

Baby Einstein Baby Einstein (stylized as baby einstein) is an American franchise and line of multimedia products, including home video programs, CDs, books, flashcards, toys, and baby gear that specialize in interactive activities for infants and toddle ...

(before it was acquired by Kids II, Inc. in 2013) under Senior Vice President and General Manager R. Russell Hampton Jr. ABC, in October 2005, commissioned ''America's Next Muppet'', a script and five script outlines, but ABC was reluctant to green light ''America's Next Muppet'', and it never got out of the planning stage. Muppet Holding's new general manager instead licensed the Muppets out to TF1, a French television network, to produce ''Muppet TV'' in September 2006.

The Muppets Studio

In 2006, the Muppets Holding Company was transferred from the Disney Consumer Products unit to The Walt Disney Studios; with studio executives passing on oversight, the unit was placed in the special events group. That same year, Disney contracted with Puppet Heap to rebuild, maintain, and create puppet characters for the Muppets Studio. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company changed its name to The Muppets Studio under new leadership by Special Events Group SVP Lylle Breier. In 2008, The Muppets Studio began a licensing agreement with

F.A.O. Schwarz FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and store. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy store in the United States, ...

to create a Muppet-themed boutique where customers can design their own Muppet. In 2013,

Disney Theatrical Productions Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP), also known as Disney on Broadway, is the flagship stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a major business unit of The Walt ...

revealed that a show based on The Muppets was in active development and that a 15-minute show had been conducted by

Thomas Schumacher Thomas Schumacher (born December 5, 1957) is a theatrical producer, currently president of Disney Theatrical Group, the theatrical production arm of The Walt Disney Company. Life and career Schumacher studied theatre at UCLA. In 1987 he was ass ...

to see how the technical components would work out. The company was transferred in 2014 to Disney's new media unit, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, specifically DCPI Labs. On April 3, 2015, a series of shorts named ''Muppet Moments'' premiered on

Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...

. The series features conversations between the Muppets and young children. By April,

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'', ' ...

was commissioned to write a script for a new Muppets pilot with the title ''

'', which was greenlit by ABC, and ran for one season. Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media became part of

in a March 2018 company reorganization. That same month, a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

of the 1980s '' Muppet Babies'' series debuted on Disney Junior.Schwartz, Dana (January 25, 2018)
"Meet the new Muppet Baby! A first look at Summer the penguin"
''Entertainment Weekly''. A relaunch of the Muppets franchise was planned as of February 2018 for the then-unnamed Disney streaming service scheduled to be launched in 2019. Soon two series were under development for the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

streaming service, the unscripted short-form series ''

Muppets Now ''Muppets Now'' is an American television series produced by The Muppets Studio for the streaming service Disney+. Directed by Kirk Thatcher, the series is an improvisational comedy based on ''The Muppets'' franchise by Jim Henson. It premiere ...

'', and the scripted comedy ''Muppets Live Another Day''. ''Live Another Day'' was from Adam Horowitz, Eddy Kitsis, and

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...

, and was planned as an eight-episode series which would depict events taking place after ''

The Muppets Take Manhattan ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' is a 1984 American musical comedy drama film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performance, the film features special appearances by Ar ...

''. The series was at

ABC Signature Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

with a pilot order when Muppets Studios vice president Debbie McClellan departed and her replacement, Disney Parks Live Entertainment senior vice president David Lightbody, wanted a different take on the project. Unwilling to drop their concept, the creative trio left the project. ''Muppets Now'' continued development and premiered on the streaming service on July 31, 2020.

Leadership

;General manager *Chris Curtin, 2004–2005 *Russell Hampton, 2005–May 2006 *Lylle Breier, Fall 2006- ;Vice-president *Debbie McClellan, c.2015— 2019 *David Lightbody, 2019–present (senior vice-president) *Leigh Slaughter, 2020–present

Projects

Disney Junior shows

*''Breakfast with Bear'' reality show (2005–2006) Disney Channel *''Muppet Moments'' short series (2015)

*'' Muppet Babies'' (2018–2022)

The Muppets

*''

'' (2005) *''Best of the Muppets'' CD (2005) *'' Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony'' (2005–2006) *'' The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas'' CD (2006) *'' Before You Leap'' (2006) *''

Muppet Mobile Lab Muppet Mobile Lab is a free-roving, audio-animatronic entertainment attraction designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, that has been tested at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and at H ...

'' (2006–present) Audio-animatronic figures at Disney theme parks *'' Muppets TV'' (2006) TF1; a French hour long show with the Muppets run a TV station similar to ''

The Jim Henson Hour ''The Jim Henson Hour'' is a television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the Muppet characters. Nine of the twelve episodes produced aired on NBC bef ...

'' MuppeTelevision segment *'' Studio DC: Almost Live'', 2 specials, August 3, 2008 & October 2008, Disney Channel special featuring the Muppets and Disney Channel stars:

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

Ashley Tisdale Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles in television and theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatr ...

and

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in ...

*'' A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa'' (2008) *special skits on some ABC DVD releases (“Desperate Housepigs” on “Desperate Housewives” DVD) * Muppet YouTube videos (2008–2018) * ''

The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora ''The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora'' is a cooking and comedy web series that starred chef Cat Cora and The Muppets, released in 2010. In September 2010, Cat Cora, alongside The Muppets characters Fozzie Bear, and Angelo appeared on the American ...

'' (2010) *''

'' (2011) *''

Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular ''Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular'' is a Thanksgiving television special with American singer Lady Gaga and the Muppets. The 90-minute program aired on ABC on November 28, 2013, with guest stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elton John a ...

'', 2013 *''Muppisodes'' (2013–2014) online *''

Muppets Most Wanted ''Muppets Most Wanted'' is a 2014 American musical crime comedy film and the eighth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller, the film is a sequel to ''The Muppets'' (2011) and sta ...

'' (2014) *''Disney Drive-On with the Muppets'' (August 1, 2014) 6 episodes on

Disney Movies Anywhere Movies Anywhere (MA) is a cloud-based digital rights locker and over-the-top streaming platform that allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as ...

*''

'' (2015–2016) ABC *''

'' (2020)

* ''

Muppets Haunted Mansion ''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American puppet supernatural comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on October 8, 2021, via Disney+. It is the Muppets' first Halloween s ...

'' (2021)

* ''

The Muppets Mayhem ''The Muppets Mayhem'' is an upcoming comedy musical series based on The Muppets by Jim Henson and developed by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta, and Jeff Yorkes, for ABC Signature and The Muppets Studio. The series stars Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry ...

'' (TBA)

Live Shows

*''Muppets Ahoy!'' stage show (2006) on

Disney Wonder ''Disney Wonder'' is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line. She was the second ship to join the Disney fleet on entering service in 1999. ''Disney Wonder'' is of the same class as . The other three ships in the fleet are the , , and . The ...

*'' The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History'' (2016–2020) Live show at

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

Notes

References

External links

Official website
at Disney.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Muppets Studio 2004 establishments in California Entertainment companies established in 2004 Entertainment companies of the United States Disney production studios The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries The Muppets