44 Years After Its Final Episode, Disney+ Is Reviving One of the Funniest Shows of All-Time (With an R-Rated Producer)

The Walt Disney Company has become a titan in the entertainment industry not just because of the massive success of their movies but largely because the own some of the biggest brands around. Between Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and the Walt Disney Studios alone, the company has some of the most colossal franchises on the planet. There’s one brand however that Disney also owns that has a massive fanbase but seldom gets its time in the spotlight in a meaningful way. In fact, some fans have argued that they appear to not care about it at all. Now however, Disney has confirmed plans to reboot this series in a major way.

Disney has actually owned The Muppets outright since 2004, and in that time have only done sporadic productions with the fan-favorite characters (with success even more limited). Now though, Disney has announced a complete revival of none other than The Muppet Show, the iconic TV series that starred the Muppets and initially ran from 1976 to 1981, the final episode airing over 44 years ago. Even though the announcement of The Muppet Show‘s return is as a one-off special event for Disney+, it does have a few more surprises up its sleeve.

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Disney officially confirmed the return of The Muppet Show by announcing it would arrive in 2026 as a “triumphant event,” featuring the return of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and the gang at the Muppet Theatre. They did note two other major details as well that will have fans even more excited, with a third that’s the most enticing.

First, The Muppet Show revival will feature none other than Sabrina Carpenter as its special guest star. This continues the trend that started with the original version of the Jim Henson TV series, wherein a human guest star would appear in every episode who would then interact with the Muppets throughout the episode in sketches, backstage banter, and typically a musical performance. Notably performers of the era that appeared include Rita Moreno, Elton John, Steve Martin, and Julie Andrews. Carpenter appearing on the new version of The Muppet Show however feels like a match made in heaven, as the singer has a comedic streak throughout her music videos and live performances.

The second major piece of news from Disney’s confirmation of The Muppet Show‘s return are the team behind it. Naturally The Muppets Studio will produce the series, but they will do so alongside Point Grey Pictures, the production company headed up Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Best known for producing R-Rated content like Sausage Party and The Boys, there is some precedent for Rogen’s team coming together to reboot a family property as they did in 2023 with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That said, it’s still a surprising name to see alongside the Muppets.

Finally, there’s one more piece of good news from the announcement. As noted by Variety, currently the Disney+ revival is planned as a one-time special event for the streamer; however, if it proves to be successful it will act as a backdoor pilot for a complete revival of The Muppet Show on the streaming service.

Disney’s Inconsistent Work With The Muppets Is Well Noted

Since Disney came to own The Muppets, the output with the characters has been both inconsistent and seldom long-lasting, especially on television and streaming. In 2011 a reboot in the spirit of The Office was produced, simply titled The Muppets, and lasted one season. Since then, a six-episode series on Disney+ called Muppets Now premiered back in 2020 with the ten-episode The Muppets Mayhem debuting in 2023. Both were cancelled shortly after their premiere.

On the big screen Disney saw success with 2011’s The Muppets, a reboot starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams that grossed over $160 million globally (the highest of the entire franchise) and even won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. A sequel, 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted, wasn’t as well received and marks the final time that the characters starred in their own feature film.

All that to say, while a new revival of The Muppet Show is an exciting prospect, it’s one that fans of the franchise may be watching through their fingers. Though the team behind the new version and even the first guest star seem like a great formula for success, Muppet fans have seen Disney bring back the franchise and drop it just as quickly multiple times.

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