Credit: Oh My DisneyWhen long-time Muppets puppeteer Bill Barretta performed at Outside Lands in 2016 as Dr. Teeth, he was struck with an idea for a series. He asked himself, what if the Electric Mayhem band from The Muppets franchise had their own show?
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Barretta, and fans alike, will find out soon enough what that show will be like when The Muppets Mayhem lands on Disney+. While the show does not have an official release date, much like most of Disney’s projects at the moment, those excited about the show have been treated to a sneak peek.
Entertainment Weekly was given the pleasure of sharing several images from the upcoming series. The photos reveal the main cast, Lilly Singh (famous Canadian YouTuber), Tahj Mowry (Smart Guy), and Anders Holm (Workaholics). And of course, we can’t forget the band members; Dr. Teeth, Janice, Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Lips, and Animal!!
Music has always played a significant role in this Jim Henson series. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem started their careers as the house band for The Muppet Show in the late 70s to early 80s. They were also featured in several of the Muppet films. Now, The Muppets Mayhem will be the first time a storyline will center around just the band. In the series, an aspiring record producer will take the band on their journey to recording a new album as they deal with the struggles of being an old-school band in the modern era.
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Adam F. Goldberg, the creator of ABC’s The Goldbergs and a genuine 80s nostalgia fan, is the show’s co-creator and has been wanting to do a Muppets project for a while. Goldberg told EW, “to us, this is an IP that’s as big as Star Wars or Marvel.”
When describing the scope of the show, Goldberg went on to say, “this is just about the band specifically. We don’t have that deep bench of characters like when you do The Wizard of Oz or Treasure Island or A Christmas Carol. You could tell this giant story with the hundreds of characters that they have. We’re telling a very small story about this band and where they’ve been and where they’re going. It is about the band and not the tone of a variety show.”
Goldberg’s vision of the show seems to be like nothing we’ve seen before from the Muppets. It will be interesting to see how this show holds up to the recent underwhelming additions to the franchise, such as Muppets Now (2020) and Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021).
Are you excited for The Muppets Mayhem coming to Disney+? Let us know in the comments.