Well Maybe
In early February of 2026 Disney Plus premiered a soft launch reboot of The Muppet Show. In classic fashion they had a Special Guest but unlike the previous reversions there was more human involvement for this iteration.
The reason behind this relaunch reboot was thinly veil attempt to gauge public interest, to see if the masses actually wanted a new contemporary of The Muppet Show. I mean people have been wanting a new version for years ever since it was teased with 2011 movie but instead Disney elected to do other things with the Muppets like an Office-like show, the Electric Mayhem show, the YouTube-like improve show and that Haunted Mansion Movie – two of which I enjoyed and one I utterly forget about and still haven’t seen and another I didn’t even finish watching.
But how was this reboot soft launch endeavor thing? Time for Tepid Take!
A Double Take
So back in the 90s there was a newer version of The Muppet Show called Muppets Tonight. It’s one of those Muppet projects that flies under the radar but it had the same format of The Muppets putting on a show with a human guest star and backstage shenanigans.
However instead of putting on a vaudeville show, The Muppets of “Muppets Tonight” were doing a TV show akin to late night show thus making the show for a then contemporary audience.
The 2026 special didn’t do that, they went back to the vaudeville-style theatre show and only waxed sentimentally during the cold open. Really it was a return to form the original run of the show with some additions.
More Humans?
The format is the same: there is the Special Guest Star which was Sabrina Carpenter but they added in two other human cameos, Seth Rogan and Maya Rudolph. The cameos are fine cameos were a mainstay of the movie but the weirder decision was the inclusion of humans in the audience which to be honest was jarring. However Rudolph and Rogan were in same doses and added to chaos so they worked well within the special.
Roots with less twists
The acts were very on brand for the Muppets with some being parodies, songs, more “artsy” numbera, an act going awry. I think the only one I didn’t enjoy was Muppet Labs, Beaker without his eyes was creepy. But the rest were all great and very akin to the original show’s sensibilities without repeating sketches from the original show.
It’s also nice to see the evolution of Muppets. They gave some “newer” Muppet who were introduced after The Muppet Show a chance for the spotlight – mainly Pepe and Rizzo though Walter should have been included. They gave Walter an entire movie as introduction haven’t done anything meaningful with him as of yet.
There was a lot the old-school Muppets present in background which was great to see. Also the inclusion of the Chickens singing back-up for “Manchild” felt like throwback to the 2011 movie. As well the finale where the Muppets all sing Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” felt like a reference back their viral 2015 “Bohemian Rhapsody” video.
More Please!
This special didn’t reinvent the wheel, they updated it for current contemporary audience by using contemporary performers. And it worked. The people behind this special clearly understood and knew what made The Muppet Show work the first time and simply just did that again and added only flourishes not structural changes.
So if the compromise for getting more episodes is that there will be humans in the theatre crowd, fine easy concession.
My favorite numbers were “Pigs in Wigs,” which is so up my alley and “Islands in the Stream,” I’m a sucker for Muppets vocalizing with “La Las,” gets me every time. Plus I enjoyed Miss Piggy and Sabrina Carpenter’s duet. Also them twining was a great and adorable running gag throughout the special.
So yes The Muppet Show 2026 special was pitch perfect even if some the newer voices will take a minute to adjust to, still and easy an concession, More Please!
Also, Also I maintain the best episode of The Muppet Show is the Star Wars one, you can’t and will change my mind but if this newer version wants to try I’m all for it. Please try!
FYI – For this review I watched a random episode of The Muppet Show though if I’m being honest it was the episode I left off on and I also watched the first episode of Muppets Tonight. Both episodes had similar elements to the 2026 special in that Muppets Tonight had Piggy vs another Blonde actress who also loves her because who doesn’t really? And the original Muppet Show episode had a muppet losing control on roller skates for most of the episode. They played the classics.
