Only a handful of entertainment properties meant for children have become lasting cultural icons. Arguably, that select group includes Disney's fab five, the Looney Tunes, the Peanuts gang and the Muppets. The Muppet Show arrived on Disney+ this month, and despite the addition of some content warnings, the series, which originally aired from 1976 to 1981, feels as fresh as ever.
That the bulk of the press surrounding The Muppet Show's streaming release focused on those content warnings is unfortunate because, on the whole, the show was ahead of its time. The contextual clarifications only appear before a few episodes that include stereotypical depictions of, for example, Chinese and American Indian cultures. It's important to remember that Jim Henson's Muppets were introduced to the public in 1969 on the still-beloved Sesame Street, and some of what was considered funny then can be uncomfortable to watch now. Comedy -- even for children -- has changed over the years. Instead of punching down and making fun of characters for being different, modern humor has become smarter and more inclusive. By and large, that describes the comedic stylings of the Muppets.
Part of the reason The Muppet Show still holds up today is that it was conceived to target a more adult demographic while remaining family friendly. That's a recipe that's been followed, with great success, by studios like Pixar ever since. When the series premiered, kids responded to the colorful puppets, the wacky voices and the antics. In fact, the show was an early adopter of unexpected randomness as a source of laughter. Adults recognized the influences: vaudeville, sketch comedy, entertainment industry meta-commentary and the trappings of adulthood itself. In contrast to the premises of most children's entertainment, the Muppets have jobs, relationships, responsibilities and anxieties that parents can relate to. As a result, like many series that find large and loyal audiences, the show works on multiple levels.
It also adhered to a variety show format, offering direct-to-the-audience performances that either went exceedingly well or hilariously wrong. Many of these featured celebrities, like Bernadette Peters or Steve Martin, with sharply written one-liners throughout. Though it thrived on chaos, the show allowed some of those performances to be genuinely moving, like Ben Vereen's heartfelt rendition of the song "Mr. Cellophane," and didn't feel the need to punctuate everything with a joke. But the variety series' best trick is that it took viewers backstage to see what felt like unscripted mayhem. Of course everything was scripted (the characters are puppets after all), but a show within a show was still a very novel idea at the time. The Muppet Show was forward thinking, both as a send up of show business and as a workplace comedy.
Yet, it wouldn't have all clicked if the characters weren't likable. Sure, the Muppets are archetypes, but there's more to them than the average anthropomorphized creatures. Kermit's the straight man, but he's a warm and vulnerable one instead of a stoic stick-in-the-mud. Miss Piggy's self-obsessed and superficial, but also -- delightfully -- the exact opposite of the demure blonde love interest. The rest of the cast is made up of awkward, diverse and somehow recognizable personality types just like the characters of The Office. Though the Muppets are far from realistic, there is nevertheless something very real about them. That especially shows when they interact with human guest stars. As a retro artifact, decidedly low-tech and tactile, they're even more charming now, especially when most of streaming's other youth and family offerings are made with CGI, which feels far more impersonal.
Ironically, for a show that's about how difficult it is to put on a show, The Muppet Show makes creating classic family television look deceptively easy. That it's among a very small group that's withstood the test of time proves it's not. The Muppet Show is always perfectly balanced on the razor's edge of opposites: surreal but grounded in reality, clever but in a way that people of all ages understand, wholesome but with just enough of an edge, a product of its era but timeless. That's why, no matter what trouble Kermit and friends get themselves into, the curtain will never really close.
The Muppet Show is now streaming on Disney+.