Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
One would think the Muppets’ return to network television would be universally praised, but the current iteration of the irreverent puppets of the mid-century counterculture was, instead, a cynical, gross, and sometimes mean reimagining of a beloved cultural property. This revamped version of the show, which is an Office-style behind-the-scenes mockumentary of the goings-on at a late-night talk show hosted by Miss Piggy (who is in turmoil following her recent split with Kermit the Frog) was an attempt and breathing fresh air into the Muppets’ relevance — as if anyone was really questioning that at all.
It comes as little surprise, then, that there’s tension at ABC concerning their new comedy series. Deadline reports today that co-creator and showrunner Bob Kushell has gotten the boot (Galavant‘s Kristin Newman is being tapped to replace him) following on-set clashes with executive producer and co-creator Bill Prady (who co-created the massively successful The Big Bang Theory). According to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva:
Because it marked the TV return of beloved characters, there were high expectations for the series, which was launched with a big marketing campaign that employed ABC’s biggest stars plugging the Muppets’ comeback comedy. But after a highly-rated premiere, ratings dropped. The Muppets has done an OK job opening Tuesday night for ABC at 8 PM, with its numbers on par with lead-out Fresh Off The Boat, but because of its marquee title, The Muppets has been held to a different standard, so its performance has been considered somewhat disappointing, and there has been a concern about its creative direction.
Behind the scenes, I hear there was a clash in styles and vision for the show between Kushell and Prady, which was exacerbated by Prady’s part-time participation, leading to swings in direction on scripts that had been already in progress. I hear Kushell was well-liked among the cast, crew and the producers, but the discord proved too taxing on everyone and was starting to show on the screen. It was getting harder for the show to go on with both Prady and Kushell, and a decision was made to let Kushell go, though I hear many wanted him to stay.
The show will air its first ten episodes (six have aired so far) before going into a hiatus. Its return in the Spring will include six episodes (ABC is ordering three additional instead of the original plan for 13 episodes), which will likely be a relaunch of the show. Is it possible that Kermit might dump his new girlfriend and patch things up with Miss Piggy? Let’s hope so.
