The Muppets are back with a special that aims to reintroduce the beloved Jim Henson icons to a new generation, paying homage to their original variety show roots. Kermit leads the rest of the Muppets ensemble, including planned showstoppers from the one and only Miss Piggy with special guests Sabrina Carpenter and Seth Rogen, who serves as executive producer for the Disney+ revival.

Who’s behind The Muppets 2026 Special?

Alex Timbers directs and serves as executive producer alongside Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Alex McAtee for Point Grey Pictures. The Muppets Studio team — David Lightbody, Leigh Slaughter, and Michael Steinbach — represent the legacy company as executive producers. Additionally, Sabrina Carpenter, Albertina Rizzo, Matt Vogel, and Eric Jacobson executive produce.

Muppet performers Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel are featured as the prominent puppeteering ensemble who reprise the Muppet characters for the special. Carpenter and Rogen are joined by Maya Rudolph in paying homage to the celebrity appearances from the original Muppet Show in skits and musical performances.

The Good:

The energy of the Muppets is the balm we need right now, and their return on Disney+ delights as a welcome one. Growing up on reruns of the variety show format, it was so exciting to watch a return to form that, in the special, really feels like a soft launch, which doesn’t quite reach the heights of the original but shimmers with the potential to bring the gang back together for a new Muppet era. The skits that lean into the frenzy and hi-jinks of a comedy trope, trying out material to bring smiles to our faces, shine with earnestness, led by Kermit’s leadership and propelled by Piggy’s hi-yah highlights.

Bringing in Sabrina Carpenter as the main skit and musical guest is a Muppet-y match made in musical heaven. The young star’s penchant for clever wordplay and effortless comedic timing is right at home with classic Henson humor — in particular, when she brings the heat to gain Miss Piggy’s respect. The ingenue and diva roles that they play against each other pay off as a surprising powerhouse team-up that we didn’t know we needed. So we hope that means Carpenter might find her way into the planned Miss Piggy feature that Cole Escola is penning for producers Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone. They’re that good together.

On top of that, the nostalgia hit hard with memorable skits starring Bunsen and Beaker doing the most to keep the Muppets weird. Their whole skit should continue to solidify the Muppets as meme icons, not because they’re trying to, but because their chaotic nature, as well as the small bits we got from fan-favorite Gonzo’s bookends, remain unmatched in bizarre relatability. Especially when it invites Maya Rudolph’s presence to only amplify it, in a truly unhinged way.

The So-So:

The comedy hasn’t found its footing when it tries to be relevant, and that undercuts the efforts to bring the Muppets into the mainstream. Sure, the show is self-aware enough to have Statler and Waldorf poke fun at the attempts, but when the show presents the concept that there were SO many ideas that the Muppets wanted to show Kermit and us, and Kermit led them to believe they were all approved to be a part of the show, but they didn’t make the cut. It made us look at what did make the cut a little too closely. Seth Rogen showing up for a silly exchange with Fozzie Bear about how his bit wasn’t going to be in the show was cute and fun, but we really would have rather seen the two square off in the same way Piggy and Carpenter got to in a skit.

The Bad:

Bringing it back to the skits Kermit did give the green light to, there was just too much reliance on pop-music covers of outdated trend songs. We were robbed of Gonzo, who only serves as a literal rocket takeoff who zooms through the acts — instead, we got a cover of the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” done by Rizzo the Rat that goes on so long you wish there had been at least two other original Muppet skits in its place. It also felt a little out of place, as it depicts Rizzo and the rats in an urban setting with an outdated R&B song that leans a little too stereotypical and is a waste of the iconic Muppets character, who is funny in his own right. We felt the absence of sketches like “Pigs in Space” and “Cooking with the Swedish Chef” (who could have been crooning in his noises to a Hozier song like “Too Sweet,” which, don’t lie, you can totally already hear in your head). And again, we hardly got any Gonzo, who only returns in the Electric Mayhem number finale, which feels like a tacked-on reminder pointing out ‘hey, there’s that Muppets rollercoaster coming to Walt Disney World this summer!’

Overall:

The Muppet Show is back, and its hope for a revival is carried by the sheer strength of Miss Piggy and Sabrina Carpenter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid warm-up for the sketch comedy format we all know and love, filled with enough bonkers moments that bode well for future episodes. The majority of the bits have the potential to carry over with internet virality if they take a page from the SNL social media playbook by releasing them as comedic reels. I mean, original internet content makers have long been making the Muppet franchise timeless despite their hit-or-miss official revival attempts, proving their longevity through memes, parodies, and clips from classic moments.

If this new crop of talent leans into that with original, fresh voices continuing to meld iconic unhinged humor with modern comedic edge, then best believe the Muppets will continue to move right along into the next era. The earnest spirit of the original Henson era is back with The Muppet Show special, keeping true to who the Muppets fundamentally are. It’s a return to form and a must-watch for the lovers, the dreamers, and me (again) when it drops on Disney+!

All seasons of the original Muppet Show are currently available to watch on Disney+.