Misanthropic is far and away the last word that comes to mind when describing Jim Henson’s Muppet family, but it’s also perhaps the most fitting for ABC’s short-lived, 2015 series, The Muppets. Trailing the sardonic quality of its sitcom contemporaries, such as Modern Family, the edgier adult humor and mockumentary style of the show left a sour taste in many Muppet fans’ mouths. Thankfully, it seems like the trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series, Muppets Now, seems to be getting the beloved characters back on the right track.

Despite being just over a month away from its premiere, very little is known about Muppets Now. The show’s synopsis promises an unscripted, six-episode adventure where, “Scooter rushes to make his delivery deadlines and upload the brand-new Muppet series for streaming. They are due now, and he’ll need to navigate whatever obstacles, distractions and complications the rest of the Muppet gang throws at him.”

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It sounds appropriately meta for the Muppet crew, and even with few details on the horizon, the show’s brief trailer already captures the delightful, sparkling energy Henson’s beloved characters are known for. The Muppets have always been about celebrating the razzle-dazzle of showbiz with a winking, subversive edge for good measure. More importantly, the Muppets were created by Henson to appeal to younger and adult viewers alike, something ABC’s show continuously failed to land.

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2015's The Muppets could be a real downer, often relying on snarky, mean-spirited humor to get its laughs. Where Henson’s creations were intended to celebrate the art of show business, ABC’s show languished in the nastier parts of Hollywood. Kermit is turned into a miserable producer who vocally hates his job and is perpetually trapped managing his co-workers' appallingly self-centered personalities. Animal is portrayed as a promiscuous, almost predatory star while the rest of Electric Mayhem seem to have rotted their brains from alcoholism and harder drugs. Even Miss Piggy’s normally endearing narcissism has lost a lot of its self-reflexive sheen.

Perhaps the most off-putting element of 2015's The Muppets is its obsession with weird relationships. Fozzie is paired up with a human woman with Garfunkel and Oates’ Riki Lindhome. It’s handled decently for the most part, but the show’s odd and frequent references to their intimacy feels like its just for shock value, and this continues to be a recurring theme between other Muppets and humans.

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Additionally, while it all gets resolved nicely, Kermit and Miss Piggy have broken up, with the former having since started dating another, younger pig from around the office. That’s his “thing,” apparently. It begs the question, did the Muppets need to tap into fetishes, inter-species relationships and recreational drug use to make its fans laugh?

That’s not to say The Muppets was a bad show. Far from it. There are plenty of golden nuggets to be found throughout the show’s sixteen episodes, most of them coming from celebrity cameos, including the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Josh Groban, Chelsea Handler and many more.

On the Muppet side, the show also gave some of the franchise’s B-listers plenty of time to shine. Pepe the King Prawn and Rizzo the Rat score some great jokes working as writers for Miss Piggy’s late-night show, and the office setting makes for some fun gags that puts its characters in inspired new predicaments. Hopefully, Muppets Now can take the best of The Muppets and polish its subversive adult side into a new, long-running staple for all ages.

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