In early April, reports circulated that ABC was looking to bring back The Muppets, reviving or rebooting the original Muppet Show concept for a new series. The network ordered a pilot and presentation for “proof of concept.”
Evidently, ABC loved the presentation and pilot because a new version of The Muppets is part of the network’s fall schedule. And this new show isn’t being relegated to a Friday or Saturday night. Kermit and the gang will lead off Tuesday night programming for ABC at 8 p.m., paired with Fresh Off the Boat, which was picked up for a second season.
Check out the trailer. This definitely isn’t The Muppet Show.
https://youtu.be/RfGjWB17hRQ
Perhaps naively, I expected a revival of the Muppets variety show, which was produced in the U.K. and ran on syndicated television from 1976 to 1981. There might be an aspect of that, with the Muppets producing such a program. Hopefully, that also results in recurring celebrity cameos by those hosting the program. But like 30 Rock, this new series appears to be a behind-the-scenes look at the people involved with putting The Muppet Show together, following the familiar ensemble of characters in their personal lives with several documentary-style “confessional” interludes.
So if you’re keeping track of such things at home, ABC will have both the Muppets and Marvel (with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) on Tuesday nights. Disney is utilizing all of its properties as best it can. How long before we get some kind of Star Wars product on television (besides Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD)?
