
Muppets Now

Muppets Now is an American television series produced by The Muppets Studio for the streaming service Disney+. Directed by Kirk Thatcher, the series is an improvisational comedy based on "The Muppets" franchise by Jim Henson. It premiered on July 31, 2020.
Premise.
"Muppets Now" is a series consisting of multiple different segments bridged together by a framing device featuring Scooter. The segments include a game show, a cooking show, and a talk show. The series was marketed as unscripted, but several writers are credited. The show sees the debut of two new characters, Joe the Legal Weasel and Beverly Plume.
Segments.
The segments include:
Production.
Development.
On May 21, 2019, it was reported that Disney was developing a 10-minute short series based on The Muppets. The series was set to be an improvised situation comedy featuring three segments. On August 23, 2019, the series was officially announced under the title "Muppets Now". On December 22, 2019, director Kirk Thatcher said that the series will approach "three different types of shows". The series was originally filmed as several shorts, meant to be released individually but they were put together into 6 episodes with framing material featuring Scooter, that was filmed from the homes of the performers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Filming.
Production on "Muppets Now" began on June 8, 2019, and lasted approximately six days. Thatcher serves as director for the series.
Release.
"Muppets Now" premiered on July 31, 2020, on Disney+ and consisted of six episodes.
Marketing.
On August 23, 2019, during the series' official announcement, a promotional teaser featuring Kermit the Frog and a Muppet named Joe the Legal Weasel was shown at the D23 Expo. On January 1, 2020, footage of the series was released in a video featuring original Disney+ content set to be released through the year. The official trailer was released on June 24, 2020.
Reception.
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 69% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 6.52/10. The critical consensus reads, "Though "Muppets Now"s formulaic sketches fail to showcase The Muppets' chaotic charms, it's entertaining enough to suggest that with looser reins - and a lot more music - it could become the best reboot in years." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Common Sense Media rated the show 4 out of 5 stars, stating : "Parents need to know that "Muppets Now" is a family-friendly show about the Muppets trying to put together their own streaming series. Made up of different segments -- like Lifesty (sorry, Life"style") with Miss Piggy, a cooking show with the Swedish Chef, and many more -- the show features the Muppet crew getting up to their usual hijinks, with a modern twist. Piggy wants to be an influencer, Scooter is overwhelmed with video chats and Slack-type messages, and celebs of the day like RuPaul join in the fun. Like much Muppet fare, it's slightly edgy, with some very mild innuendo (a Muppet fan tells RuPaul he "just wants to touch him") and cartoonish violence in the form of slapstick and pratfalls. The series is fast-paced, light, and fun; families who are Muppet fans will be pleased to see this return to form from their favorite gang of now media-savvy puppet friends".