Muppets Now

Muppets Now
File:Muppets Now logo.jpeg
Genre	Puppetry Improvisational comedy
Starring	Bill Barretta Dave Goelz Eric Jacobson Peter Linz David Rudman Matt Vogel
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Andrew Williams Bill Barretta Sabrina Wind
Running time	22-24 minutes
Production companies	The Muppets Studio Soapbox Films
Original release
Network	Disney+
Release	July 31, 2020 (2020-07-31) – present (present)

Muppets Now is an American web television series produced by The Muppets Studio for Disney+. Directed by Kirk Thatcher, the series is an improvisational comedy based on The Muppets franchise by Jim Henson. It premiered on the streaming service on July 31, 2020.

Premise

Muppets Now is a series consisting of multiple different segments bridged together by a framing device featuring Scooter. The segments include a game show, a cooking show, and a talk show. The series was marketed as unscripted, but several writers are credited.

The segments include:

• Lifesty(le) with Miss Piggy, in which Miss Piggy offers lifestyle tips with assistance from Uncle Deadly, Taye Diggs, Linda Cardellini and various other Muppet and celebrity guests.

• Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ, hosted by Beverly Plume in which The Swedish Chef competes against celebrity chefs.

• Muppet Masters, which features Walter discovering the Muppets’ hidden talents.

• Mup Close and Personal, in which a different Muppet each time attempts to have an in-depth conversation with a celebrity guest.

• Muppet Labs Field Test, in which Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker take their experiments out into the open.

• Pepe’s Unbelievable Gameshow where Scooter has came up with a long list of rules for Pepe's game show, but Pepe himself would rather just make it up as he goes along, to Scooter’s annoyance.

Cast

Muppet Performers

Main article: List of Muppets

• Matt Vogel as
  • Kermit the Frog, the leader of the Muppets.
  • Uncle Deadly, Miss Piggy's personal assistant.
  • Camilla the Chicken, Gonzo's girlfriend.

• Eric Jacobson as
  • Fozzie Bear, Kermit's best friend, a struggling comedian.
  • Miss Piggy, the host of "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".
  • Animal
  • Sam Eagle, a conservative eagle.
  • A Mole who appears in the second installment of "Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ".

• Dave Goelz as
  • The Great Gonzo, a daredevil and Camilla's boyfriend.
  • Bunsen Honeydew, the host of "Muppet Labs Field Test".
  • Waldorf
  • Chip, the I.T. Guy.
  • Beauregard, a janitor of indeterminate species.

• Bill Barretta as
  • Pepe the King Prawn, the host of "Pepe's Unbelievable Gameshow".
  • The Swedish Chef, a chef who is the star of "Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ".
  • Big Mean Carl
  • Howard Tubman, a rich pig and RuPaul superfan who appears in the first episode, interrupting Kermit's interview with his idol.
  • Bubba the Rat, a butch rat who appears with Yolanda in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".
  • Bobo the Bear, an absent-minded bear.

• David Rudman as
  • Scooter, the co-host of "Pepe's Unbelievable Gameshow" and the producer of Muppets Now whose job is to upload the show onto Disney+ in time.
  • Beaker, the co-host of Muppet Labs Field Test and the victim of Bunsen's experiments.
  • Janice, the guitar player of The Electric Mayhem who appears in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".

• Peter Linz as
  • Walter, the host of "Muppet Masters".
  • Statler
  • Link Hogthrob
  • Joe the Legal Weasel, the Muppets' new lawyer.

• Julianne Buescher as
  • Yolanda the Rat, a female rat who appears in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".
  • Beverly Plume, a turkey who is the host of "Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ".
  • Margaret, a Whatnot beautician who appears in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".
  • Rosie the Sheep, who appears in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".
  • Beak-R, Bunsen's new high tech assistant who appears in the first installment of "Muppet Labs Field Test".
  • Priscilla the Chicken
  • Brie the Cheese, who appears in "Lifestyle with Miss Piggy".

• Mike Quinn

Production

Development

On May 21, 2019, it was reported that Disney was developing a 10-minute short series based on The Muppets. The series is set to be an improvised situation comedy featuring three segments. On August 23, 2019, the series was officially announced under the title Muppets Now. On December 22, 2019, director Kirk Thatcher said that the series will approach "three different types of shows".

Filming

Production on Muppets Now began on June 8, 2019, and lasted approximately six days. Thatcher serves as director for the series.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Due Date"	Christopher Alender Rufus Scot Church Vito Massara	Matthew Barnette Marcos Gabriel Jim Lewis Jamilyn Rosalas Noah Smith Joanna Truman Andrew Williams Kelly Younger (story team)	July 31, 2020 (2020-07-31)
The Swedish Chef and Carlina Will compete against each other in “Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ”, Walter reveals Kermit’s hidden talent for photobombing in “Muppet Masters”, Kermit interviews RuPaul in “Mup Close and Personal” and Miss Piggy discusses personal style with Uncle Deadly, Janice, Rosie the Sheep, Taye Diggs and Linda Cardellini in “Lifestyle with Miss Piggy”. Guest stars: Linda Cardellini, Taye Diggs and RuPaul, Carlina Will
2	"Fever Pitch"	Rufus Scot Church Vito Massara	Matthew Barnette Marcos Gabriel Jim Lewis Jamilyn Rosalas Noah Smith Joanna Truman Andrew Williams Kelly Younger (story team)	August 7, 2020 (2020-08-07)
Pepe drives Scooter crazy with his made-up rules in the first installment of “Pepe’s Unbelievable Gameshow” with help from Bearegaurd, Carol and Gonzo and his chickens. The Swedish Chef competes against Danny Trejo in “Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ.” Dr. Bunsen Honeydew experiments with melting and burning with his new high tech assistant Beak-R and Miss Piggy discuss health with Uncle Deadly, Bobo the Bear, Yolanda Rat, Bubba the Rat, Camilla the Chicken, Taye Diggs and Linda Cardellini in “Lifestyle with Miss Piggy” while Fozzie bombards Scooter with pitches. Guest stars: Linda Cardellini, Taye Diggs and Danny Trejo
3	"Getting Testy"	Rufus Scot Church Vito Massara	Matthew Barnette Marcos Gabriel Jim Lewis Jamilyn Rosalas Noah Smith Joanna Truman Andrew Williams Kelly Younger (story team)	August 14, 2020 (2020-08-14)
4	"Sleep Mode"	Unknown	Unknown	August 21, 2020 (2020-08-21)
5	"The I.T. Factor"	Unknown	Unknown	August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
6	"Untitled sixth episode"	Unknown	Unknown	September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04)

Release

Muppets Now premiered on July 31, 2020, on Disney's streaming service, Disney+.

The first season will consist of 6 episodes. As is normal for a Disney+ original series, episodes will be released weekly.

International

Country	Release date
Australia	July 31, 2020
Canada
India
Ireland
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Middle East and North Africa	August 1, 2020
Japan	August 21, 2020
Indonesia	September 5, 2020

Marketing

On August 23, 2019, during the series' official announcement, a promotional teaser featuring Kermit the Frog and a Muppet named Joe the Legal Weasel was shown at the D23 Expo. On January 1, 2020, footage of the series was released in a video featuring original Disney+ content set to be released through the year. The official trailer was released on June 24, 2020.

Reception

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 67% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.52/10. The critical consensus reads, "Though Muppets Now's formulaic sketches fail to showcase The Muppets' chaotic charms, it's entertaining enough to suggest that with looser reins - and a lot more music - it could become the best reboot in years." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

External links

• Official website
• Muppets Now on Disney+
• Muppets Now at IMDb