‘The Muppet Show’ Review – The Muppets Return As Good As Ever

Disney’s “The Muppet Show” stars Sabrina Carpenter and the original Muppet cast | Courtesy: Disney/Mitch Haaseth

As the song goes, “it’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights!” Because decades after the end of the original series, The Muppet Show returns to our screens just as good as it’s always been! From executive producer Seth Rogen and Disney+, The Muppet Show invites audiences back into the legendary Muppet Theatre for a night of music, hijinks, and comedy—presented in a way that only the Muppets could pull off. And if you’ve ever seen an episode of The Muppet Show, you can already imagine exactly what kind of chaos awaits everyone’s favorite group of felt-covered thespians. Put simply, this new revival of The Muppet Show offers everything a longtime Muppets fan could hope for while deftly ushering the show into the modern age.

Welcome Back to The Muppet Show

It’s the night of the Muppets’ very first show back in the legendary Muppet Theatre, and Kermit the Frog wants everything to go off without a hitch. However, things rarely go smoothly at The Muppet Show. As guest star Sabrina Carpenter and the rest of the Muppets perform a variety of sketches and musical numbers, chaos and mayhem threaten to overtake the Muppets’ celebratory return. But, as the saying goes, the show must go on, no matter what kind of backstage hijinks occur. Overall, this new revival of The Muppet Show feels right at home with the show’s original run. It’s basically Saturday Night Live starring the Muppets, complete with musical performances of songs old and new and comedy sketches galore. And what’s really nice about this new special is that it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel of what The Muppet Show is.

The original Muppet Show was always this hybrid of a classic variety show and a backstage workplace sitcom, and that’s very much still the case here. In fact, some of the backstage shenanigans end up being funnier than the sketches themselves. Though that’s not to say the sketches are unfunny, quite the opposite. There’s one in particular, starring everyone’s favorite science duo, Dr. Bunsen and Beaker, that’s particularly hilarious. But at its simplest, this new Muppet Show offers a showcase for the sheer variety the Muppets can provide. And after years of film parodies and book adaptations, it’s nice to see the Muppets return to their roots as a troupe of performers trying to put on the zaniest variety show possible. In that sense, this new Muppet Show special succeeds with flying colors. It’s zany, it’s wacky, and its heart bleeds Muppet joy through and through.

A Whole Lot of Muppet Love

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this special is the immense love for both the original Muppet Show and the Muppets as an institution that’s on display. Everyone involved, from Sabrina Carpenter to Seth Rogen to fellow guest star Maya Rudolph to the Muppet performers themselves, simply oozes love and adoration for what they’re doing. Everyone knows exactly what kind of show this is, and everyone seems absolutely delighted to be a part of it. All three of the human guest stars—Carpenter, Rogen, and Rudolph—perfectly mesh with their Muppet costars. Carpenter and Rudolph, in particular, seem made for Muppet Show cameos, with Rudolph having an ongoing and utterly hilarious offstage bit and Carpenter clashing brilliantly with fellow diva, Miss Piggy.

And it’s that love and affection that everyone involved has for the Muppets that easily carries the show through some of its slightly rockier moments. This is, after all, essentially a pilot for a new ongoing Muppet Show series and, as such, you can feel the cast and crew working through a few kinks. But those kinks never take away from how joyous a return to form for the Muppets this is. And really, there’s just so much Muppet-y joy to behold here. Sure, the special’s only about half an hour long. And sure, you’ll be left desperately longing for so much more as the credits roll. (Perhaps, given the uncertainty about The Muppet Show‘s future, a slightly longer runtime for this special might’ve been warranted?) But everything that’s here is just quintessential Muppet-y fun in the very best way possible.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, the biggest compliment anyone can give this new revival of The Muppet Show is that it feels exactly like an episode of the original Muppet Show. There’s backstage shenanigans galore, genuinely funny comedy sketches, and delightfully inventive and tongue-in-cheek musical numbers. It’s a perfect snapshot of everything the Muppets can and should be, and it’s easily the best they’ve been utilized in a very long time. Even those who’ve yet to be won over by some of the newer Muppet performers will find themselves drawn into this loving return to the Muppet Theatre. Put simply, the sooner ABC and Disney+ can get a full season of this new Muppet Show onto our screens, the better.

The Muppet Show premieres Wednesday, February 4th, at 9 pm on Disney+ and ABC.