REMEMBER THE MUPPETS??
Infidelity, drugs, a new Spamela Hamderson...
How did the Muppet Show get so adult?
- Classic show will return to screens next month with ten half-hour episodes
- New version inspired by 'mockumentary' style of Ricky Gervais' The Office
- Includes love triangle between Miss Piggy, Kermit and a pig called Denise
- Curvy brunette is puppet recycled from old character Spamela Hamderson
Their furry variety show was the epitome of family entertainment.
But when The Muppets make their much-heralded return to our screens next month, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and co will have a distinctly ‘adult’ air about them.
This new version of the show, inspired by hit TV comedy The Office but featuring all the much-loved characters from the original Muppets TV series that ran from 1976 to 1981, will tackle ‘mature’ themes such as Kermit’s split from Miss Piggy, his affair with another pig and inter-racial marriage.
Muppeteer Steve Whitmire, who voices Kermit, said: ‘It’ll be real life. A little edgy.’
Kermit the Frog with his new girlfriend Denise in the upcoming Muppets series. He split from long term love Miss Piggy, but sighs in in one preview clip, 'I’m attracted to pigs.'
Miss Piggy from the first ever 1976 Muppets series (left) and the Spamela Hamderson puppet recycled to create curvy brunette Denise for the new show (right)
Many will think that is an understatement, with a plot line that is not what you might expect from Jim Henson’s original children’s entertainment show – a love triangle between Miss Piggy, Kermit and another ‘woman’.
Kermit has started dating a curvy brunette pig called Denise, a puppet recycled from a former Muppets character called Spamela Hamderson. ‘What can I say?’ Kermit sighs in one preview clip, ‘I’m attracted to pigs.’
But Miss Piggy gets her own back by snogging a human in the form of Topher Grace, the star of hit US sitcom That ’70s Show.
The modern Muppets also make full use of social media, parodying Gwyneth Paltrow’s online announcement of her split from her Chris Martin when Kermit announces his relationship break-up on his Facebook page.
He writes: ‘After careful thought, thoughtful consideration and considerable squabbling, Miss Piggy and I made the difficult decision to terminate our romantic relationship.
'We will continue to work together on television… however, our personal lives are now distinct and separate and we will be seeing other people, pigs, frogs et al.’
Miss Piggy and Kermit together in 2011 film The Muppets. She said of their split, 'Dating moi is like flying close to the sun. It was inevitable that Kermit would drop down to the ground while I stayed in the heavens.'
The modern Muppets make full use of social media, parodying Gwyneth Paltrow’s online announcement of her split from her Chris Martin when Kermit announces his relationship break-up on his Facebook page.
Miss Piggy responds: ‘This is our only comment on this private matter, unless we get the right offer. Dating moi is like flying close to the sun.
'It was inevitable that Kermit would drop down to the ground while I stayed in the heavens.’
American network ABC has commissioned ten half-hour episodes that will air on Sky in the UK.
Ricky Gervais, who created and starred as David Brent in The Office, consulted on the series and is expected to make a guest appearance.
A source for the show said: ‘The new Muppets is based very much on The Office format with hand-held cameras and Kermit and Miss Piggy speaking directly to camera like David Brent.’
Executive producer Bill Prady explained: ‘If Jim Henson was alive, he wouldn’t make a variety show because that’s not what’s big on TV.
'He would look at the mock-documentary style which came to the US from England. That’s what this new show is about and the format we’re trying to make fun of.’
In one scene Fozzie Bear dates a beautiful Cuban girl and her anxious father asks if the couple have children: ‘Where will they go to the bathroom… in the woods?’
The new Muppets is inspired by the mock-documentary style of The Office, starring Ricky Gervais as David Brent. Gervais consulted on the series and is expected to make a guest appearance.
Offended, Fozzie barks back: ‘OK! That is an offensive stereotype!’
When Miss Piggy threatens to boycott her new TV show, Kermit makes a joke referring to the legalisation of marijuana in some US states, saying: ‘Everyone’s going to be upset. Except the band. They’re always happy – legally now.’
Muppets creator Jim Henson with Kermit. Bill Prady, executive producer of the new series, says he would approve of the reboot
‘No subject is off limits,’ a source close to the show told The Mail on Sunday.
‘Everyone remembers the classic Jim Henson Muppet Show of the 1970s and 1980s but this new show is aimed firmly at a mature, modern audience and addresses subjects that would have been taboo in the past.’
The ABC source added: ‘The show will be relevant and will grab story lines straight from the headlines'.
'Children will enjoy the new show but a lot of the jokes and references are aimed at adults.’
Last week, producers released a YouTube clip of Kermit rapping in tribute to the newly-released movie Straight Outta Compton.
While executives are keeping the celebrity guest list tightly under wraps, The Mail on Sunday has learned that stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Sofia Vergara, Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Scandal star Kerry Washington are all lined up to make cameos.
Producers are planning to approach Elton John, who appeared in the original series.
The global franchise of the Muppets brand, which was sold to ABC/Disney in 2004 for a reported £100 million, is now said to be worth £600 million.
Pundits expect the revamped show to ‘reboot’ the franchise and take it to a possible billion-pound global valuation.
But the ‘stars’ won’t be demanding pay rises. ‘You can do anything with my zoological crew,’ said Kermit.
‘And many of them just work for food. That’s always nice.
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