On Wednesday, Disney Plus released the first trailer for Muppets Now, the Muppets’ first-ever unscripted series, premiering July 31st.
The wacky six-episode show stars Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang performing improv and sketch comedy with a variety of celebrity guests. (In the trailer, Kermit is forbidden from saying who the celebrity guests are, following the advice of Joe the Legal Weasel, but we get a glimpse at Seth Rogan, Aubrey Plaza and RuPaul.) The series arc is tied together with Scooter rushing to make delivery deadlines so that Muppets Now can premiere on time for streaming.
Disney first announced the new series on May 20th, a.k.a. National Streaming Day. The show is directed by Kirk Thatcher, who directed the 2002 special It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and co-wrote Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.
This will be the third Muppets series produced under the franchise’s Disney ownership, after the short-lived primetime sitcom The Muppets on ABC (2015-2016) and the ongoing reboot of Muppet Babies. It will also be the first series where Matt Vogel performs as Kermit the Frog after long-time performer Steve Whitmire was fired over creative differences and disagreements in labor union negotiations.
