Credit: D23Seventy years ago, on May 9, 1955, a new show premiered on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., called Sam and Friends. The show centered around a man named Sam, who escaped everyday life by talking to friends that he created based on different parts of his life. Those friends were Yorick, Professor Madcliffe, Chicken Liver, Harry the Hipster, and the now iconic Kermit.
Sam and Friends was created by the legendary Jim Henson and ran for six years. While Sam and Friends might not be known to a lot of people, the characters that it helped inspire have become some of the most famous in history.
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After Sam and Friends, The Muppets didn’t get their own show right away. Instead, their popularity continued to grow as some of the characters appeared on Sesame Street, which premiered in 1969.
Finally, in 1976, The Muppets got their very own platform when The Muppet Show premiered in the United Kingdom. Henson had created two pilot episodes for ABC in 1974 and 1975, but they never moved forward, so Kermit and his friends went overseas.
The Muppet Show was an immediate hit, with an average of 14 million people tuning in on Sunday nights to watch. Months after premiering in the UK, more than 100 countries had either made deals or were trying to get the air rights to the show in their country.
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The Muppets have been a beloved part of history for decades, and a huge part of Disney since 2004, when the company acquired the intellectual property rights from The Jim Henson Company.
While The Muppet Show ended in 1981, Disney continued to create a variety of different Muppets films and television shows, including The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), The Muppets (2011), Muppets Tonight, Muppet Babies, Muppets Now, The Muppets Mayhem, and more.
And now, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show, Disney is creating a brand-new special for Disney+.
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According to a report from Variety, Disney has teamed up with Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures to create the special.
Variety has learned that the streamer has greenlit a one-off “Muppet Show” event special that will air in 2026 to coincide with the original show’s 50th anniversary. In the special, the Muppets will return to the Muppet Theatre to produce a variety show. Sabrina Carpenter will guest star.
Veteran Muppet performers Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman and Matt Vogel will perform the majority of the Muppet characters in the special, supported by a team of additional performers. Goelz, who has performed with The Muppets for over 50 years, was one of the performers on the original “The Muppet Show” and originated the characters Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, among others.
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What’s even more exciting is that an insider told Variety that Disney is considering using the 50th anniversary special as a way to launch a brand-new Muppets series, but that has not yet been confirmed.
Disney fans have not been too pleased with Disney and its treatment of The Muppets in recent months. On June 8, 2025, Muppet*Vision 3D officially closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. Fans were devastated and still let Disney know how upset they are that Disney closed the beloved attraction.
We do not yet know when the special will air, just that it will be sometime in 2026. Inside the Magic will keep readers updated as we learn more about this exciting new Muppets show.
Do you love The Muppets? What is your favorite film or series starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, and their friends?