Not bad, had some (predictably) funny moments. My biggest issue is that Kermit did not sound like Kermit.
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adammwatts31 July 2020Not the muppet experience that I grew up with, but fine, I guess. Kermit (alongside others) doesn't sound anything like Kermit however. Hope it gets better.
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drael641 August 2020Also suffers from the issue of attempting to be too grounded in modern day human life. One of the charms of the original show was crazy antics. Cartoonish absurdism. When you try to ground everything muppet into the human world, rather than grounding humans in the muppet world, it looses that.
I got a few nice laughs from the first episode, and it's better than the last effort (although that also had it's moments), it also suffers from some of the same issues. It feels toned down, sedate. -
adamlennard2 August 2020Episode 1 was quite good, got some laughs and made me want to see the next episode. That being said I have to agree about the new voices Kermit in particular just sounds wrong and it's really off putting. I thought Miss Piggy and Deadly were very fun together.
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ivo_shandor2 September 2020Muppets Now! should be the fix for our Muppet cravings, but sadly it's probably the most underwhelming project they've done. Disney should have listened to Josh Gad, who had a much better take on it, something more in line with the classic Muppet show instead of awkward improv comedy. It's basically an unscripted skit and tutorial series, with only really one funny moment in the entire first episode. The thing people might realize is that the Muppets have always been defined by their scripts; witty adult humor or chaotic mania depending on the movie. Muppets have always had that defining edge over other children's entertainment, and this series is severely lacking it. Even the ABC series from a while back is funnier, though it is an Office clone, but it makes me laugh and it has that biting sharp tone between hilarious, dry and manic. Muppets Now is a glorified tutorial series that seems like a cheap excuse to film it on zoom, with a dated internet fad, just to save money on writing and ideas. I suppose it's the perfect series for right now, something shown entirely on your computer, but it's missing the heart and soul, and as a Muppet fan, I'm not too keen on seeing something so carelessly thrown on streaming. I miss the tone of the original and what I'm seeing just looks like an excuse to look like a zoom call just makes you feel more trapped in reality, as opposed to escaping from it, which is always the point of a good show or movie. Seems to me Disney is really unsure of what exactly to do with the Muppet franchise ever since the 2011 film. I say make another season of the ABC series, or do what they did in the 90s; stories like Treasure Island became a prime target ripe for parody. Doing individual movies like that again might help the franchise. Kermit the Frog Sherlock Holmes anyone? Josh Gad, if you're still working on a Muppets idea, I'm all for it, let's get it done. I just hope that the franchise doesn't fall into the trap of recent movies like Men in Black International or Ghostbusters 2016; ditching good comedy writing for bad improv comedy. Good comedy writing seems hard to find nowadays and I don't want it to disappear. It has been just one episode so far, time will tell if it's a worthy Muppet series or not.
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MissSimonetta31 July 2020The Muppets have had a hard time finding creative footing since Jim Henson died in the 1990s. Their output is generally hit and miss, and sometimes veers too far in trying to be trendy and "relevant." This new series is-- judging by the first episode-- harmless and pleasant, but not exactly mindblowing. The celebrity guests are rather uneven when it comes to improv skill, and the skits themselves are just okay. I'll watch more episodes before I write it off though.
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Jeffspobst1 August 2020I was excited for some new Muppets stuff, but this was just bad.
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I almost stopped watching because Kermit was so BAD! I mean, I know Jim Henson is gone, but can they not find someone who can do a Kermit impression? The second episode seemed like it was someone else trying harder and other skit was pretty funny. The Swedish Chef is pretty hilarious!
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remconet-204-2853771 August 2020I kinda like it, but Kermit is unwatchable. The new voice is all wrong and he doesn't even behave like Kermit anymore. Makes the whole thing automatically way less watchable. The format is cute, I'd prefer a regular show. Didn't care for the female Muppet performer.
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I love the Muppets. They're the only non-human guests on talk shows that are interviewed like humans. I've loved them since I was a kid & since then have grown a progressive attitude towards life. With that said, the new Muppets are unwatchable & Kermit's voice is too far gone from Steve or Jim to be anything halfway decent. Sorry. This show is a failure.
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Arts-student1 August 2020Yes, The Muppets have struggled since Jim Henson's death. This show has some truly hilarious moments and jokes. The celebrities can be hit or miss. I do agree that Kermit's new voice is still finding it. I'm guessing it is still finding its footing as a series. Like the original Muppet Show, I'm sure there will be as many misses as there are rofl moments.
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cordariousburns1 August 2020MUPPET babies 2018 is better it has charm, i hope this gets better in time LOL 😂
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richclayton-4157610 August 2020I've watched everything "Muppet" since the original UK TV show in the 70s. I love the Muppets.
After Jim Henson died, Steve Whitmore did a great job in keeping Kermit sounding pretty close to his creators vocal characteristics.
Over the years, various actors have taken over the roles of different characters, but it's never been that jarring as the new Kermit.
He just isn't Kermit... I just can't settle with the new voice. I don't know what Steve Whitmore did to lose the job, but Disney need to get him back, or find a more suitable replacement, and quick.
It's like having Mickey Mouse speaking with a deep, aggressive gangster style accent all of a sudden... Disney just wouldn't do it. Mickeys' voice has had to be recast in recent years, but its still Mickey.
I don't like the format, and Kermit just ruins it for me.
It's a big shame, we were all looking forward to this new Muppet project... what a let down. -
Bros this Muppets Now Is boring, dull, slow, and for the most part, a cliche and lifeless reboot. 1/10
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Alrob225 September 2020This is the muppets for a 40 year old white mom science teacher.
Please Bob Chapek, make the muppets good again -
leodpdx28 August 2020Muppets Now is a very mediocre show. Each episode has four different segments, and they're all rehashed from a pool of skits. Only the first few episodes have original segments. Most of the sketches are bland and unfunny- think a bad SNL sketch, but family-friendly and with Muppets. There is one standout skit that's actually entertaining: Pepe's Unbelievable Game Show. It's a reasonably funny segment, but it's not enough to make Muppets Now truly worthwhile. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it, although it's not awful.
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amiraamar5491 August 2020The first episode doesn't feel like The Muppets. Kermit doesn't sound or move the same, and with the exception it RuPaul the guests fell flat.
I really hope Disney does this right and doesn't try to make the characters too hip/modern. They tried with Muppets from Space, and it tried too hard to be edgy. -
ajzeg6 September 2020You know, I often hear about how Disney has been mistreating the Star Wars franchise ever since they bought it and I can't help but laugh and roll my eyes. Sure, with so much content coming out not ALL of it is going to be great, but at least there's new content coming out consistently! You REALLY want to talk about a franchise Disney bought and have been mistreating ever since? It's another property that started in the '70s and has made its mark on popular culture. That's right, I'm talking about The Muppets. Disney bought The Muppets in 2004, but really didn't do much with them except for a couple of TV specials, some YouTube videos, and special appearances on ABC shows like America's Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They just kind of sat on them as far as major projects went. That was until 2011 with a theatrical film, simply titled The Muppets. I love this movie, I think it's great! It's both a tribute to the legacy of The Muppets and a new introduction to them for younger audiences who may be unfamiliar with them. This was my first major introduction and I was hooked! Next in 2014 was a sequel, Muppets Most Wanted. I thought this one was great too, but clearly I was in the minority because this movie did not do that well critically or financially. Next was a sitcom on ABC in 2015, also simply titled The Muppets. I didn't like this series as much as the recent movies, it was pretty derivative of other shows like The Office, but I still enjoyed its updated take on The Muppets that brought them back to their more adult-oriented roots. This series was not a hit, being cancelled after only one season. From what I heard, a lot of the criticism came from people complaining about the more suggestive jokes and storylines, but if you actually look at the history of The Muppets they've always had a more adult edge to their humour, much like the early seasons of The Simpsons or The Flintstones. The pilot to The Muppet Show was even called Sex and Violence! It was one of the things that differentiated The Muppets from their Sesame Street cousins, but it seems like most modern audiences look at The Muppets and automatically assume that they're just kids stuff. That's a very unfortunate mentality that I'll come back to later. The series also faced criticism for the storyline of Miss Piggy and Kermit breaking up, but their relationship as always been on-and-off. Again, there seemed to be a lack of understanding of the original Muppets. That's not really relevant, I just thought I should bring it up because when else can I? Anyway, ever since that series was cancelled, there's been radio silence. No new Muppets content for 5 years, except for some commercials or YouTube videos here and there, as well as a reboot of Muppet Babies. Not exactly the kind of Muppet content I was looking for. The announcement of Disney+ came with news of an ambitious-sounding new Muppets series, a sequel series to The Muppets Take Manhattan with involvement from people like Josh Gad. It had potential, but this project would never see the light of day. What we got instead was this series, Muppets Now. I freaking hated this show and here's why! First, let's start with the marketing. All over the place, this show was marketed as being "unscripted". After actually watching the show, what the HELL kind of "unscripted" series is this??? It's made to look like it's unscripted, but it's so obviously meticulously rehearsed and planned-out, which is understandable. Puppetry is seriously hard work and requires a lot of working parts to pull off, not easy to improvise. WHY, then, would they market this as being unscripted when clearly it isn't?? It's false advertising right off the bat! Second, I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room. Steve Whitmire, who had been performing the role of Kermit the Frog ever since Jim Henson's passing, had a really stupid falling-out with the Henson family recently and was replaced by fellow Muppet performer Matt Vogel. Vogel also recently took over the roles of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street full-time after the passing of Carol Spinney. The thing is though, he had been studying under Spinney for years to prepare for those roles, making for a much smoother passing of the torch between performers. The Muppets aren't just voices. They're extensions of the performers themselves. There's a sacred bond between puppet and performer, a bond that was broken when Whitmire was kicked out. Vogel was kind of thrown into the role of Kermit and he just doesn't sound or feel right. It's hardly his fault, he's clearly doing his best, but it's still distracting. It's going to take a long time to get used to. Kermit isn't really in this show much though so it's not THAT bad. The next issue I have with this show is the format. This show returns to the sketch format of the original Muppet Show or Muppets Tonight, if anyone remembers that. Get those on Disney+, by the way! And on DVD! Ahem, however, there are only 6 recurring segments that appear in every episode along with the decent framing device of Scooter uploading the video files on his computer. A good chunk of this show takes place on video calls, but before you get too excited they're not being current. This show was produced last year. They did the same thing in some of their YouTube videos back in the day. Put a pin in that, I'll come back to it later. The segments include a lifestyle vlog with Miss Piggy, a cooking show with The Swedish Chef, a game show with Pepe, a science demonstration with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, a Muppet interview and demonstration with Walter, and a celebrity interview. I'm gonna go through these segments from worst to best. The worst one is the cooking show. Sure, The Swedish Chef is always funny, and these segments would be funny too if they didn't have a damn turkey Muppet explaining every joke and focusing way too much on some celebrity chef that they bring on in every episode! What the heck, I come for The Swedish Chef only to find him sidelined! It's not funny, it just feels like some cooking tutorial on YouTube! Again, I'll come back to that. The science demonstration segment is also pretty terrible. Beaker is always funny, but again, it's not funny. It doesn't feel like it wants to make you laugh. It feels like it wants to teach you about science with some humour sprinkled in like Bill Nye the Science Guy or a BuzzFeed video. Noticing a bit of a theme here? Also, there's some really horrifying food waste in these segments that I was NOT here for. The next one up is the game show. Hey, remember the Nostalgia Critic's online game show, Pop Quiz Hot Shot? This is that but with The Muppets. It's cheap and poorly-done. I get that that's supposed to be the joke, but again, it's not funny. The next one is the segments with Walter learning a skill from another Muppet. These can also feel like a tutorial at times, but it takes itself less seriously and allows for more comedy. Too bad there's only two of these in the whole season! The next one up is the celebrity interviews. They heavily promoted these when marketing the show, but false advertising strikes again! There are only three of these segments! One with Kermit and RuPaul, one with Miss Piggy and Aubrey Plaza, and one with Fozzie Bear and Seth Rogen. These segments feel much more relaxed and spontaneous than the other segments, maybe this is what the advertising was talking about when referring to the show as "unscripted". They're still not that funny, but they do seem a lot more genuine than the other segments. The last and best segment in this show is Miss Piggy's lifestyle vlog. These are actually genuinely quite funny, Piggy is always an entertaining character and she has great chemistry with Uncle Deadly's deadpan and sinister mannerisms. This is definitely their attempt at being trendy, making fun of a genre of YouTube video and also the video chats come back in this, but I think it's an update that works and makes sense. These segments are pretty funny. Now, after all that, you probably noticed that most of these either A: recreate a genre of YouTube video, B: try to be educational, or C: both. It's like when coming up with the idea for this show, they just thought up what kids would like and what would be good for them. This whole series seems aimed less at adults and more at children. Young children, which has never been who The Muppets were only meant for! There is very little for an adult to enjoy in this series, classic Muppets like Statler and Waldorf barely even show up in this! I don't even know if kids would be that into it, why would they want to watch The Muppets do YouTube-style videos when they could just watch actual YouTube, especially if The Muppets have an entire back catalogue of MUCH better original content ON YouTube! This series just seems so cheap, soulless, and slapped-together. They couldn't even be bothered to make more than 6 episodes, but with how repetitive this show is I'm glad it's short! Overall, while Muppets Now is sporadically entertaining, it's a slog to get through and I do not recommend it. I'm glad to say I'm not in the minority, most audiences are not enjoying this show. Honestly, I can see this one getting cancelled after one season again, which is good because this show sucks, but bad because it sends a message that audiences don't like The Muppets. Well, we do. We just don't like BAD Muppets content like this. Come on, Disney. You can do better than this.
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chrisanderson-9264425 August 2020I've been a big fan of the Muppets since I was a kid and was so happy to see them return.
This is a fun, up to date way to introduce muppets to a new generation. The segments are funny (mostly) and the guests seem to have a great time working with the gang.
The new series is far from perfect. There are a lot of reviews slamming it for the voice of Kermit being wrong. They're right but while most people could do a better Kermit voice, it is far from being as bad as they say. There could be more variety as well. We see Swedish chef and miss piggy get segments every episode so far but have yet to see favourites such as fozzie, gonzo, electric mayhem and many others get more than 30 second cameos.
My only other criticism is that it could be a bit longer. With only enough time for 4 sketches, the episode is over too quickly for me. I want more! Add another sketch per episode, making them 30 mins instead of a standard TV 23.
I seem to have mentioned more faults than positives but if you're not too picky about your muppets, this is brilliant -
blanbrn16 August 2020Grew up with and always been a fan of these fun little characters as they are so fun, funny, and adorable. Been an avid watcher of "The Muppet Show", "Muppet Babies", and "The Muppets". This new streaming series "Muppets Now" is one that's a little different and high tech more modern with high tech use of emails, texts, facebook, and facetime. Still the show does fun little skits and has parody quite well. The entertainment is well done with different guests as episode has a theme still the same charm and plenty of satisfaction is felt with each showcase. Still after all these years it's nice to see the green frog Kermit and his friends strut their stuff even if the format is a little different like that of an upload form. Maybe not the best Muppets still a watch if your a fan.
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heathrobertj25 December 2020I watched 3 minutes of this. That was enough. I am a big Muppet fan, and I should know how Kermit the Frog sounds like. This isn't Kermit. I tried to keep the focus away from his voice, but it was unbearable and I just couldn't watch it any longer. Don't show this to your kids!
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Fun19885 September 2021I love the concept of the show. My biggest issue is the Kermit voice. With so many actors out there you should be able to find a better match the the true Kermit voice. Love seeing the guest stars and the Miss Piggy segments!
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sposborne8 August 2020Most old muppet fans will criticize kermits voice but i look at it as a modern take on the muppets and even old fans will say that the show isn't bad but still not good as the muppet show
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squall41269-550-36433229 January 2021Sounds nothing LIKE Kermit, get someone who can voice Kermit better or get Steve back!
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willdrkwingdk31 July 2020This show should not exist, it is but a disgrace to the original muppets tv series, The Muppets was meant to be filmed like a Talk/Sketch show and it shouldve stayed like that and it makes me think they think im stupid, its completely appaling that such a show could find itself on our beautiful disney plus