Steve's Kermit has always been more comfortable being a jerk. Kermit could be snide and frequently eruptrws into arm-waving hysteria on TMS, but it was always tempered by a sweetness that was part of his character. Was.
When Steve took over, things took a turn for the mean. I'm not saying Steve is mean OR snarky--I'm sure he's very nice--but his interpretation of Kermit has always been more likely to bite than kiss.
The funny thing is--by and large--audiences don't like it. Eventually--and you can see this time and time again in the muppets' history--the viewing public seems to hit some sort of "im tired of the obnoxious frog" saturation point, at which time some writer or Disney executive says "whatsamatta. The frog is bombing." Cue Ms Piggy, who allows Kermit to redeem himself by being all lovey-dovey, and ratings soar.
It has always looked to me (just my opinion here) as though Steve favors the "pigs are fat and stupid" camp, and his natural humor seems a lot more rough than Jim's. Jim Lewis is another one who seems to find humor in Kermit being mean to Piggy just because picking on fat chicks--who are obviously stupid, otherwise they wouldn't be fat, right?--is always fun and good for a rude laugh.
This is always troublesome to me, because it goes against the whole "our differences make us strong" idea that is keystone to the muppets appeal. (Unless, of course, you're Piggy, in which case your differences only make it acceptable to ridicule you and make fat jokes.)
I never worried, because critical mass always seemed to right what seemed wrong to me, and either a movie or a public appearance or something always seems to drive Piggy and Kermit back together again. "The Muppets" thrived on the reinvigoration of the Kermit-Piggy dynamic, with Piggy being self-actualized and deciding not to go back to the frog who NEEDS her but doesn't WANT her. Contrast that with psycho-pig who trashes the studio because of sharpies.
It dawned on me while I was writing the above what has seemed off and out-of-place.
The Muppets actually treated the muppets like adults.
It's "the muppets" who seems to equate puruile and mean with "grown up."
Ru, who is Still grateful there are always books when television is just stupid.
I can see and respect where you are coming from, however I respectfully disagree with your analysis on Kermit in this series.
While the show has a long way to go before it finally hits its stride, we've already seen fair examples of Kermit trying to walk the line between 'Boss Kermit' and 'Friend Kermit', especially when Piggy and Fozzie are concerned.
Pig Girls Don't Cry:
Here, the harsh breakup is still causing a huge amount of tension between Kermit and Piggy. Kermit's feelings are probably still very raw considering that he was the one who ended it. Very much like the 'Fantastic Miss Piggy Show' where Kermit stone-facedly continued to direct the special after their disagreement, here Kermit buries himself into his job as the EP to keep his mind busy. So when the Elizabeth Banks issue pops up, he is so focused on the show that he becomes blinded to Piggy's feelings associated with the actress.
However, once Piggy confronts him about it Kermit never hesitates to admit that he had been an 'insensitive toad' towards her. He really does care about Piggy and wants to be able to work with her on a daily basis without the awkward tension that seems to be constantly between them.
Hostile Makeover:
There is no denying that Kermit uses what he knows about Piggy to manipulate her into doing things for the benefit of the show-I will not deny that. It's a bit difficult to justify Boss Kermit's actions as a positive thing.
In Hostile Makeover, Piggy's irrational behaviour over not having a date (blame the writers for that particular bit of poor character development) is causing the rest of the troupe a huge amount of grief-it's affecting the morale of everybody involved. So Kermit had to step in and do something before Piggy went too far and started to break down the other Muppets to the point where it would start to affect the quality of the show.
Kermit was convinced that setting up Piggy with Groban would be able to make her happy
and spare his friends and himself from her wrath. He had no possible way of knowing that Groban would turn around and talk Piggy into making terrible decisions for the show. So, Friend Kermit who had helped her find a new boyfriend had to give way to Boss Kermit so he could save the show and keep Piggy's successful career on track.
Yes, using Piggy's rather large ego against her was a bit sneaky, but Kermit knew it was the quickest and cleanest way of getting rid of Groban and allowing Piggy to keep her dignity.
Bear Left then Bear Write:
Once again, Friend Kermit and Boss Kermit collide when it comes to being honest with Fozzie about his terrible sketch. At first, Kermit's longtime friendship with Fozzie causes the frog to lie in order to protect Fozzie's feelings. Any decent friend would. But of course, once Fozzie decides to leave the show to pursue his new ambition to write a movie, Boss Kermit has to step in once again.
However, Friend Kermit is still in charge of the situation. Once he realizes how lying to Fozzie was the wrong way to go, Kermit goes after him to apologize and to offer to help him draft the sketch until it's production worthy. Boss Kermit is just happy to have Fozzie back as the show's sidekick.
Pig Out:
Once again, Kermit proves to be sneaky and rather manipulative, but yet again, it is perfectly justified by the fact that the troupes foolish actions are being fueled by Piggy's decision to act irresponsibly. A successful pig such as herself should be able to realize that partying all night then turning up to work at 2 in the afternoon-hungover or still half-drunk- is a damaging thing to do for ones career.
Yes, it's wonderful that she finally connected with the other Muppets, and yes she deserves to have as many friends as she likes. But these guys are also her co-workers and she was leading them down a path that could potentially destroy
all of their careers. There's a big difference between letting loose on a Saturday night and doing it every day of the week.
What choice did Kermit have? Really? What kind of boss, not to mention
friend would he be to let his friends go and to stupid things? He needed to step in and stop the problem at the source: Piggy.
Once again, he used Piggy's own ego against her. While it was harsh, it needed to be done to restore order. Piggy is more than welcome to go out and enjoy some quality time with the other Muppets; just as long as it is in moderation.
Also consider:
At San Diego Comic Con, Bill Prady stated that 'Kermit's fatal flaw is that he has hired his friends. His weakness is that he cares.' Kermit finding that particular balance between boss and friend is going to be his main story-arc throughout the series. When you think about it, this is the first time that Steve Whitmire, alongside the writers, have a solid foundation on which to develop Kermit beyond what he has been reduced to over time.
So if the show is granted the opportunity to develop and grow- then so will our favourite frog!
Believe me when I say that I am not trying to change your opinion in the slightest. I just think you're being a little too harsh on Kermit when the series has barely begun. Give him time.
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: Sorry about that, lol. Again, quirks and personal issues. My boyfriend understands. 
