When somebody blows a play on Monday Night Football tonight, members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals might have to worry about Statler and Waldorf jeering them from the stands. That’s because Disney, owners of ESPN, have decided to let The Muppets provide a little commentary on tonight’s game. The Muppets, currently appearing on Muppets Now for Disney+, made the announcement via a Vimeo video posted to the ESPN Front Row account. Apparently what began as a simple “Muppet Night Football”promo, using The Muppets to promote tonight’s show, eventually transformed into a full-fledged Muppet takeover. ESPN says that there will be Muppet elements throughout the night.
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You can see the video embedded below. In it, The Muppets sing a Monday Night Football-themed version of “Carol of the Bells.” And, yes, it’s filled with plenty of patented Muppet Mayhem.
Julie McGlone of ESPN’s Creative Content Unit, said in a statement, “To bring the Muppets to life in a pandemic was a huge challenge.”
MNF: THE MUPPETS from ESPNFrontRow on Vimeo.
“The Muppet crew are the kindest people, and they are so genuine with those characters and with the way they produce content, being authentic to their brand and to their show,” McGlone said in a statement. “The Muppets have been incredible, committed partners in production from concept through every final detail in post-production with editor Justin Belcher.”
The Muppets joined the Walt Disney Company in 2004, almost 15 years after their first attempt to acquire them from creator Jim Henson. Henson’s untimely death in 1990 imploded that deal, which was designed to give Henson himself a significant role at Disney. While it seems on paper like a perfect fit, the anarchic spirit of The Muppets has proven difficult for the family-oriented Disney to fully get a handle on. They had a well-received movie, followed by one that was far less so. Then there was a short-lived The Office-style workplace comedy, but also a colossal hit in the form of Muppet Babies on Disney Junior.
Disney+ recently wrapped its first season of Muppets Now, an improvisational sitcom starring The Muppets in a setting familiar to anyone who loves the characters: behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show. This time, things are a little different than before, though; while The Muppet Show and The Muppets. both saw the characters creating their shows, Muppets Now takes place in post-production, as Scooter uploads video files of the sketches to the streaming service, while ducking notes from production, legal, the cast, and of course Kermit. That means, for a lot of people, Scooter will play the Kermit role here, since traditionally it was Kermit who was the calm at the center of The Muppet Show storm. In addition to interviews and comedy sketches, Muppets Now incorporates Muppet Labs segments, in which Bunsen and Beaker to outrageously dangerous experiments.
Monday Night Football (with The Muppets) will air tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Muppets Now is currently streaming on Disney+.
