- Disney+ unveils first full The Muppet Show special trailer
- Sabrina Carpenter stars
- It hews closely to the original
I’m old enough to remember the confusion over a certain puppet when The Muppet Show first aired in 1976. While excited that it would feature a cast of Muppet characters, I was confused because only one, Kermit the Frog, was instantly recognizable to me. Where were Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie? Other than Kermit, these Sesame Street stars lacked the creative freedom necessary to launch and stage a weekly comedy show, one that ran for five seasons, and that is returning as if dethawed from cryofreeze on Disney+.
The special, which airs on February 4, got its first official trailer on Friday (January 23, 2026). It’s a time warp of sorts, in that the cast of Muppet characters, sets, and even joke setups appear unchanged from the original. However, there’s also a winking acknowledgement that this special, which is produced by and stars The Studio’s Seth Rogen, is a risk, or at least a challenge, and one these fabric stars might not meet.
There’s a steady stream of jokes about this not being a dream job, how it only continues if this one succeeds, and as Statler and Waldorf joked from their balcony seats, the Muppets did it for the money.
Watching the 90-second clips, I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear. It was all so familiar and yet somehow fresh. That could be the presence of celebrity guest Sabrina Carpenter, who mixes it up with Miss Piggy, or the perfect blend of classic and contemporary.
The Muppets was always a show that operated on two levels. There were the jokes and sight gags that probably appealed to kids wandering over from Sesame Street, and the winking jokes and references that appealed to adults and parents.
Take this exchange between Kermit and Carpenter:
Kermit: “We’re still working out a few kinks.”
Carpenter: “That’s alright, I love a kink.”
Surely that joke’s meant for adults, especially Gen Z, who are perhaps less familiar with The Muppet brand but also have a different take on some social mores.
If the clip is anything to judge by, the new show’s sets and shot style are sometimes close to the original but also look a tiny bit more real in some of the behind-the-scenes interactions.
This, however, is not The Muppets. That ill-fated 2015 revival was more of a documentary about the Muppet’s “real lives” as they tried to support a Miss Piggy-centered show. I have few good memories about it.
At this point, it’s unclear whether the special will lead to a more or a regular series. With Disney’s brand ownership, I’m sure they’d like to revive Muppet Mania and ride a series of The Muppet Show specials into another new movie.
Those have been hit-or-miss affairs, too, but perhaps Disney can start viewing Muppet Movies like the Star Trek franchise: every even or odd one is good; you just know you have to deal with the occasional dud to get to the golden Muppet nugget.
Whatever the case, I plan to watch The Muppet Show special and hope that this is really what we call The Muppet Show.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
