If you've turned on the TV to watch a talk show anytime after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, you'll know the medium's had a rough go of things lately. Without live music and audience reaction, the format seems a little stilted. Enter not one, not two, but three new puppet-based talk shows, all with connections to the world of Jim Henson. It might seem as though Muppets Now, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo and Earth to Ned were innovative solutions to the impossibility of airing live during the pandemic, but all three were actually in production prior to the onset of COVID-19. That means Disney+ and HBO Max bet their subscribers wanted puppet talk shows.
This breakout genre doesn't exactly come out of nowhere, however. The Muppets' brand of adorably satirical humor has always played with the tropes of variety and sketch comedy shows, and these new installments are no different. Disney and HBO want to appeal to the nostalgia of their Gen X customer base while making fresh appeals to their kids. It works, to different extents. Muppets Now, Not-Too-Late and Earth to Ned are all short, sweet and something for the whole family to watch together before bedtime. Here's our ranking of the three entries in the burgeoning subgenre, from worst to best.
Muppets Now
Muppets Now on Disney+ sets itself apart because it's not parodying a traditional late-night talk show so much as what passes for mainstream modern entertainment these days. It's really a clip show that mimics and mocks everything from YouTube videos to the vestiges of networks like E!, Bravo and The Food Network. The gimmick is that the Muppets are remotely producing a lifestyle program via a very put-upon Scooter's home computer. That framing works fine, but the individual segments don't always live up to the promise of the premise.
The Muppets circa 2020 are almost as endearing as they were in previous iterations, and it's nice that Walter -- of 2011's movie reboot The Muppets -- is included. It's fun to watch the Swedish Chef cook in a taco-off against Danny Trejo, and Taye Diggs and Linda Cardellini appear in multiple episodes to banter with Miss Piggy. But Muppets Now isn't as consistently sharp or clever as we all know the Muppets can be. Most of the gags rely upon pretty obvious character stuff (Miss Piggy's conceited, for example), and things could stand to get a little wackier and out of hand. Still, Muppets Now skewers our pop-culture tastes just enough to be genuinely funny at times, and it successfully balances its pitch to older and younger audiences so that everyone will be happy enough to sit down and watch the six 22-minute episodes together.
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
After 50 seasons on PBS, HBO acquired the rights to Sesame Street and its characters, including toddler-favorite Elmo, in a five-year deal. Sesame Street is as earnest as the Muppets are madcap. So, as you'd expect, of all the entries into the late night puppet show wars, HBO Max's The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is the most intentionally made for children. That's as it should be. To do something any more subversive wouldn't ring true.
Not-Too-Late's first guest is Jimmy Fallon, which perfectly sets the tone. As other late-night shows have progressed down the avant-garde and political path blazed by David Letterman and Jon Stewart, Fallon has made a name for himself for being decidedly old-fashioned, uncontroversial and some might even say un-adult. On the first episode of Not-Too-Late, The Tonight Show host kindly walks three-and-a-half year old Elmo through the responsibilities of talk show hosting, and cuteness ensues. So does silliness; Elmo can't read, chickens are running the control room. Then Kacey Musgraves performs a lovely rendition of "Rubber Ducky," and it's time for bed. Guests in subsequent episodes include John Mulaney and Lil Nas X. With a runtime of only 15 minutes, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo is a passable replacement for a bedtime story, but it's not necessarily something HBO Max subscribers sans kids would seek out on their own.
Earth to Ned
Earth to Ned is awkward, but that awkwardness is one of the keys to its charm. It's the only puppet talk show starring original characters, and thus it's the only one with a premise more daring than here's some intellectual property from your childhood, chatting with celebrities. In Earth to Ned, also on Disney+, the ne'er-do-well son of an evil imperial space lord has been tasked with conquering Earth. Instead, he falls in love with our pop culture, puts off the invasion and decides to host a late-night show from his ship.
Brian Henson (son of Jim) is one of the producers, and of the three Henson-adjacent shows, Earth to Ned feels the most in tune with the Henson humor of old. It derives more of its absurdist comedy from improvisation, and -- as was the Muppets' forte -- it's extremely self-referential about the inner workings of Hollywood and celebrity itself. Guests aren't so much booked as abducted, which leads to plenty of riffing about how much stars dislike doing press junkets. A few bits match those in Not-Too-Late beat for beat. Ned's first guest is Andy Richter, who coaches Ned and his sidekick, Cornelius, through their pilot episode. Instead of chickens, tiny aliens wreak havoc on the set.
But Earth to Ned uses its schtick to wittier ends. Neither Muppets Now nor Elmo would attempt a visual gag about harvesting the brains of the other late-night shows' writing staffs. Its concept -- a galactically upper-class and fame-obsessed creature with daddy issues small talking with everyone from BB-8 to Jenny Slate until he's inevitably forced to destroy us -- is rich enough to propel the show forward as long as it finds an audience. Earth to Ned is family friendly, but aimed more at the sensibilities of adults. However, kids are often quicker and smarter than we give them credit for; some might be just as entertained by our new blue overlord-in-waiting as they are Cookie Monster. If you've only got time for one puppet talk show, Earth to Ned best captures the spirit of what all three shows are trying for. But with limited episode runs and short runtimes, there's really no need to choose.