I’m Still Disappointed About The Muppets’ Latest Cancellation, But Here’s What I Hope The Creators Work On Next

Technically, the last two years have been a win for Muppets fans, considering that Haunted Muppets Mansion And Muppets mayhem were each unquestionably a step above their small-screen predecessors, 2020’s fun if limited variety show Puppets now and the misguided 2017 broadcast effort The Muppets. Unfortunately, Disney+ didn’t deem Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem’s new album worthy of a second season and killed our hopes for season 2 by canceling it before the Thanksgiving festivities. But before all those bitter feelings could subside, Adam F. Goldberg stepped in and revealed that he and co-creator Jeff Yorkes are currently “cooking up” another Muppets adventure.

Given how early in the process it was, Goldberg obviously didn’t have any specific details to share with Muppets fans to keep their heads above these crushed tomato-filled waters. (For what it’s worth, he mentioned “Kermit & the gang” in a thank you post. Tweeter in the days following the dreaded cancellation.) But that just leaves the door open to start dreamily speculating about the characters in the next series (or special).

A Complete Muppet Labs Series

Bunson and Beaker have been my favorite Muppets characters for as long as I can remember, which is pretty amazing for a duo where one member doesn’t speak coherently. Part of their continued appeal has to do with the consistently excellent Muppet Labs segments, which follow the same basic structure of “Bunson’s cool invention goes haywire all over Beaker’s worried face.”

I would love to see this creative team similarly expand on Bunson and Beaker’s contributions to science. Puppet Chaos embraced over 50 years of music. Let them enter the modern space race – the pigs! In! Space! – or attempt to reverse climate change (or a slightly less ambitious mission), that would be awesome to watch, and just think of all the amazing guest stars that could appear.

A romantic comedy about Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy

Considering how long Kermit and Piggy have been romantically linked, including situations where they weren’t actually a couple, I think it would be fun for the Muppets universe to focus on their chemistry for a high-level comedy paying homage to Tom Hanks. and Meg Ryan, the shared films of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, but also more offbeat films like Eternal sunshine of the impeccable mind.

I certainly wouldn’t scoff if the Muppets team treated such a concept as a parody of the rom-com genre, because there’s a lot to mine there. But I would be more interested in seeing an authentic love story between Kermit and Miss Piggy unfold, with a mature approach that doesn’t just veer into bawdy gags. (I mean, a few bawdy gags are of course welcome.)

A show about Gonzo setting up a stunt attraction in the Disney park

Considering how many Muppets movies, shows and specials revolve around the concept of mounting a live show, why not bring in that Disney synergy of Haunted Muppets Mansion back for a scripted series that actually includes Disneyland and/or Walt Disney World in the series itself? I can’t think of a better way to approach this idea than through a spectacular, stunt attraction featuring none other than Gonzo the Great, his faithful Camilla, and all the other characters brave enough.

I love theme park stunts almost as much as I love Jim Henson’s presence in the parks through Muppet Vision 3D and others, so this idea would scratch both of those itches precisely. And obviously the end goal here would be for Disney to introduce a Muppets stunt show to the parks to coincide with the series’ release, which would help reverse the disappointment that our hope for one Puppet Chaos link never happened.

A revival of the Muppet Show

Since the spectacular stunt idea above already satisfied the Muppets’ penchant for recalling the glory days of The puppet show, I might as well appeal to Adam F. Goldberg & Co. to fully embrace a top-to-bottom revival of the variety show that turned Kermit, Fozzie, Animal and many others into household names known. There are undoubtedly plenty of celebrities who would sign on as guest hosts, and even if it only included stars who have previously worked with the Muppets, it would still allow for hundreds of A+ talent, from Mark Hamill to Tina Fey to RuPaul.

Additionally, given the current popularity of sketch comedy, a new Puppet show could also take a self-aware approach by spoofing and casting actors from other popular shows like Saturday Night Live, Mr. Show, Children in the hall, Tim and Eric, The state and beyond. I would love to see Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael Key (who both appeared in The Muppets) voicing Muppet versions of themselves impersonating dozens of fictional college football players.

Certainly, it’s unclear where Adam F. Goldberg and Jeff Yorkes (or anyone else) go next with this franchise, and I’m sure the ideas I noted above won’t be at all close to what will actually come out. Which is good, since the Muppets could do a show about melting butter, and I’d be parked on the couch for it. While we wait to hear more, be sure to stream all the Muppets greatness available with a Disney+ subscription.