Greetings and salutations Hivers.
I just watched the trailer for the newest Muppets series.
On one level, my reaction was immediate and cynical: here we go again. Another revival. Another attempt to resurrect something that very clearly belonged to a different media ecosystem, a different audience rhythm, and frankly a different attention span.
We’ve seen this movie before. And it usually ends early. But then something happened. They started singing the theme song. And doing the familiar gags. And I couldn't help but smile.
I was a kid again.
This is the impossible bind every Muppets revival has faced since Jim Henson died.
If you modernize too much, you lose the rhythm. The Muppets are not fast. They’re vaudeville. They rely on pauses, timing, visual gags, and jokes that land because they’re allowed to breathe. That alone puts them at odds with modern television pacing. I mean it never should have worked in the first place. Puppets doing a variety show with call backs to vaudeville. But it did for three seasons.
Despite having a number of successful movies and many popular YouTube shorts, they've never been able to figure out how to bring back the TV show, though they've tried. And all past attempts failed.
Some leaned too hard into meta commentary, turning the Muppets into mascots for self-referential irony. Others tried to force them into formats they were never designed for: workplace sitcoms, mockumentaries, soft reboots that felt embarrassed by the source material.
The Muppets don’t work when they’re apologizing for being the Muppets.
What surprised me about this trailer is that it didn’t feel embarrassed. They are going right back to that original vaudeville setting with no hint of irony.
Recreating the opening wasn’t just nostalgia bait. It was a declaration of intent. A quiet statement that said: we remember what this was supposed to feel like.
I went into the trailer unsure, but now I am hopeful.
Disney’s track record here is mixed at best. But... do we dare hope?
So yes, I’m cautious. History tells me this will probably stumble, get retooled, or quietly disappear after a season. Revivals usually do. But for the first time in a long while, I’m not only cynical.
What do you think?
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |