'Muppets Now' Review
TV-PG
Runtime: 22 minutes per episode
Production Companies: The Muppets Studio, Soapbox Films
Distributor: Disney+
Cast: Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman, Matt Vogel
Release Date: July 31, 2020 (one episode a week)
It’s time to get on streaming // It’s time to do some skits // It’s time to capitalize on The Muppets on Disney+ tonight. Out of all the Disney-owned properties that I’m emotionally attached to, The Muppets stands out on top. It’s one of the most iconic franchises in entertainment history and features some of the most unforgettable characters of all time. They have lived through many incarnations ranging from TV to movies, and even TV movies. But ever since they were purchased by Disney in the 2000s, their content has been scattershot. Let’s do a bit of a recap, shall we?
In 2011 you had Jason Segel’s The Muppets movie that perfectly captured their iconic charm. 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted was also decent, but then you had ABC’s 2015 The Office-style sitcom titled The Muppets. I personally thought it was a bold concept despite the lackluster execution where they applied formulaic tropes from every 2010s sitcom, which was a disservice to the humor. A few years later, Disney Junior rebooted Muppet Babies, which didn’t really do much for me.
At long last, we have Muppets Now, a new Muppet show for Disney+ which, on one hand, is a great step forward for bringing the Muppets back to form, but on the other hand, still proves that Disney has no idea what to do with them… just like most of the other properties they own.
The series is an unscripted variety sketch show that includes a Pepe the King Prawn game show segment, a Swedish Chef cooking show segment, a Miss Piggy vlog series, a celebrity interview session, and a Dr. Honeydew and Beaker DIY segment, all compressed into 22-minute episodes. Because they are the Muppets, a humorous, oftentimes chaotic nature is present. It’s the backbone of the series as a whole. The routes that certain segments take are delightfully entertaining, especially when the jokes catch you off guard and you realize that there’s no script, which makes it even more admirable. Seriously, the Muppets are a better improv team than most human improv teams… which says a lot about human improv teams.
One of the best segments is the Miss Piggy vlog entitled “Lifestyle with Miss Piggy,” which features the titular host discussing beauty tips while Uncle Deadly takes on the role of her assistant and makes snarky comments. Taye Diggs appears in a comedic segment on her show and then she hops on a video call with none other than Linda Cardellini. At first, I thought it would be a one-time thing, but Diggs and Cardellini appear in each episode during Miss Piggy’s sketch. They become regulars on the show and that consistency makes it more fun to watch.
The Swedish Chef cooking segment involves celebrity chefs taking part in crazy antics as they do a cooking demonstration. Nothing is funnier than watching Danny Trejo and Swedish Chef send each other mean glares.
Muppets Now features appearances from Muppet characters that we haven’t seen in ages. In the first episode, Walter — who you know from the reboot movies — appears with a sketch of his own. Later on in the series, someone from The Moopets — the knock-off Muppets from the 2011 movie — gets their turn in the limelight.
That said, despite being entertaining, utilizing the Muppets for a variety sketch show on Disney+ still feels off-brand. Truthfully, I feel this is a worse direction for the Muppets because they went from being adult-oriented to being safe, family-friendly, harmless Muppets. Not to say there’s anything wrong with that, but to squander something like a variety sketch show for the Disney+ platform instead of sending it to YouTube, which is the platform they're satirizing the most, seems bizarre. As far as a television series goes and the franchise they have built, Muppets Now feels completely pointless. I admire the effort put into it and the familiar humor it bears, but it doesn’t feel authentic to the Muppets’ identity. To see it in the hands of a company that doesn’t realize their true potential and has constantly given the shaft to franchises over the years is disheartening, and Muppets Now is proof of that matter.
