Here's something I didn't expect to write in 2026: The Muppet Show is back, and it's actually good.
The Disney+ special, hosted by Sabrina Carpenter, premiered this week to genuinely positive reviews - a rarity for franchise revivals that usually feel like corporate necromancy. The Hollywood Reporter called Carpenter "the ideal host," and for once, the hyperbole is justified.
The Muppets have been in creative purgatory for years. The 2011 Jason Segel reboot was charming. The 2015 ABC series was too cynical. Muppets Now on Disney+ was too weird. Disney clearly wants to do something with Jim Henson's beloved characters, but hasn't figured out what.
This special gets it. Rather than reinventing the Muppets for modern audiences, it remembers what made them special in the first place: variety show chaos. Celebrity host, musical numbers, backstage banter, something exploding. It's the original format, executed with 2026 polish and Sabrina Carpenter's considerable charm.
And Carpenter is perfect for this. She's having a moment - her album Short n' Sweet dominated 2025, she's a genuine pop culture phenomenon, and crucially, she's game. She sings with Miss Piggy, trades quips with Fozzie Bear, and commits to the bit with zero self-consciousness. She's not above the material; she's in it.
That's what the Muppets always needed: hosts who understand they're not slumming. The original series worked because , , and treated the Muppets like legitimate collaborators. has that same energy. She's not doing the Muppets a favor by appearing. They're doing .
