The Future of the Muppets

[Muppet Master]

Since MMW has done modest at best at the box office, what do you think Disney'll do next to ojur furry friends? Will they just go and release loads of classic muppet DVDs, will we finally get a primetime TV show we wanted, will Disney make a new muppet film in 2017?

 

[KremlingWhatnot]

If they do, my guess would be a primetime television show, I don't see another film happening anytime soon, and I defently don't see Disney releasing classic Muppet material other than the movies and maybe the specials, but yeah, primetime television show I can see at the very best Disney could do.

 

[charlietheowl]

I think that a TV series would be the best for the franchise as a whole, it would give a great chance for character development and giving all the Muppets a spotlight as opposed to having to focus on a few in the movies. I don't know that Disney has enough faith in them to give them one right now, even though ABC is desperate for any sort of successful program right now. I don't see them fitting in on either ABC Family (all their original programming are dramas) or Disney Channel (too young an audience), so it would be ABC or bust.

As for the format of the show, I don't think a variety show would be a good idea because it would make them too dependent on each week's guest star. For every John Cleese or Glenda Jackson the original show had there was a Gladys Knight or Liberace. So I think a sitcom would be the best idea. Perhaps each season could be built around a theme (the Muppets are developing a Broadway show, the Muppets have been given a talk show, etc.) so that you could sprinkle in musical numbers and guests, but keep the focus on the Muppets.

Will any of this happen? Who knows. I'd like to see Disney dip their foot in the water by giving the Muppets a Muppet-centric special, perhaps a real Christmas special (compared to the Lady Gaga focused one from last year). If the special does well, then try another one and go from there.

 

[FunnyBear]

Since MMW has done modest at best at the box office, what do you think Disney'll do next to ojur furry friends? Will they just go and release loads of classic muppet DVDs, will we finally get a primetime TV show we wanted, will Disney make a new muppet film in 2017?

They're ignore the Muppets again, a few specials, and giving them a few new pieces of merchandise here and there and then "POOF!" New movie in 2022.

 

[Plaid Fraggle]

As for the format of the show, I don't think a variety show would be a good idea because it would make them too dependent on each week's guest star. [...] So I think a sitcom would be the best idea. Perhaps each season could be built around a theme (the Muppets are developing a Broadway show, the Muppets have been given a talk show, etc.) so that you could sprinkle in musical numbers and guests, but keep the focus on the Muppets.

I've never really thought of this! I like it, even though on the whole I really don't like sitcoms too much. (This would end up being, like, the best example of the medium on television if done right, haha.)

I like that there's plenty of room for guest stars, but not too much focus on them. Even better is that many (most?) sitcoms run about 22 minutes long, considering commercial breaks. That would be an ample amount of time for hi jinx but wouldn't allow for anything to overstay its welcome from week-to-week.

The thematic shifts season-to-season also sound wonderful

And I see what you mean about ABC being the best bet, although maybe ABC Family would also not be a bad idea. I just know more people who actually watch ABC Family, and something quirky could spruce up their melodramatic line-up. (Keep in mind I have no idea what's running on ABC or ABC Family right now, but I have an idea of the programming due to what I've seen in years past.)

 

[ToodlesTeam]

I feel like the best move for the Muppets would probably be a show, but there really doesn't seem to be a good home for them on television right now. At least, not anything that Disney owns. It almost makes me wonder if developing a show for Netflix or even Disney Movies Anywhere might be the better direction to go. Then it wouldn't be quite as hard to reach the right audience, because there wouldn't be the natural dissonance with the programing around it that you'd have on ABC or Disney Channel or whatever.

The other possibly that I thought of is that maybe the Muppets could go the direct-to-DVD route, since Disney loves to have annual franchises to turn out on a yearly basis, like the Tinker Bell and Buddies movies. Muppet movies are cheap to produce and, since they have a consistent set of performers to depend on, the quality could potentially be a step above what is the standard for direct-to-DVD Disney stuff. Of course, the potential is also very real for Disney to churn out a bunch of horrid Muppet movies, too. But it still seems like a realistic possibility for Disney might do with the characters.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I would be really surprised at a TV show in the works...as Kermit said for it to happen the movie would have to do really well and while it may not have bombed it certainly didn't knock anything out of the ball park either. *And dont go flaming me for saying so it's reality!" Sure it may not be a failure as a Muppet film but do you honestly think Disney is looking at it that way? I don't think so. And even if they do a TV show not many people are into the vaudeville thing anymore so they may have to figure out another way to make it appeal to today's audience. And yes I know for us the same format would be great but the general public isn't really like us is it? I personally think the best thing though would be for them to do a TV show. I think I'd lay off the movies for awhile.

TV specials would be good too and not just Christmas specials I'd love to see a Halloween or Valentines Day special. Of course seeing TMS seasons 4 and 5 released on DVD would make me sing the hallelujah chorus. I just hope they don't go sticking them in stupid guests spots like the tween shows on Disney Channel. Their too good for that! I think there will no doubt be a future with Muppets I just don't know how much. I hope to god I'm wrong and Disney sees how important they are to today's pop culture.

 

[Plaid Fraggle]

It almost makes me wonder if developing a show for Netflix or even Disney Movies Anywhere might be the better direction to go.

I hope that the Netflix thing is feasible, because I could see that working fairly well. Unfortunately I put very little stake in Disney's direct-to-DVD stuff. I'd love to see it work well, but my gut feeling is that it could brand the Muppets with a stigma of poorer quality or something, even if the DVD productions were pretty good. (And that's a pretty big 'if,' in my humble opinion!) That kind of association could be hard to breach once they focus the franchise efforts in the direct-to-DVD market.

I also really like Pinkflower's suggestion of Valentine's and other holiday specials. Those could be cute, and specials like that already have a nostalgia factor about them. Television specials are novel but have been around for what, sixty years? There's a "rarity" associated with a special showing on television.

 

[charlietheowl]

I like that there's plenty of room for guest stars, but not too much focus on them. Even better is that many (most?) sitcoms run about 22 minutes long, considering commercial breaks. That would be an ample amount of time for hi jinx but wouldn't allow for anything to overstay its welcome from week-to-week.

The problem with guest stars is that it makes the show tenuous from week-to-week. You don't want to have to rely on stunt casting to get people to tune in, or else you've basically become The Office post Steve Carell's departure. The most sustainable way to build a successful show is to have a steady group of good characters, and I think the Muppets have that without needing more than sporadic guests.

 

[ToodlesTeam]

I hope that the Netflix thing is feasible, because I could see that working fairly well. Unfortunately I put very little stake in Disney's direct-to-DVD stuff. I'd love to see it work well, but my gut feeling is that it could brand the Muppets with a stigma of poorer quality or something, even if the DVD productions were pretty good. (And that's a pretty big 'if,' in my humble opinion!) That kind of association could be hard to breach once they focus the franchise efforts in the direct-to-DVD market.

I'm right there with ya on the stigma of poor quality that comes with direct-to-DVD. Mainly because it's almost always completely justified. I don't really want to see the Muppets go that direction. But it does seem like the type of direction Disney might go, what with MMW not raking in the bucks and a tv show feeling a little incongruous with Disney's current television line-up. The Netflix show seems the best to me, but I don't really know if Disney would want to go that direction. But it seems like it would have the highest chance of producing a quality production without betting too much money on it.