Muppets fit satirical talk show genre like a glove

Fallon-esque new series suits Kermit and co’s irreverent humour.

You have to be a little bit dead inside to not dig the Muppets. For almost 40 years their quirky brand of cheerfully chaotic irreverence has ensured that they've never really fallen out of fashion.

Sure, there's been the odd creative misstep here and there, but overall they've proven themselves to be immune to the fickle whims of trend.

Perhaps the secret is that from the very start they were way ahead of their time. Creator Jim Henson and his absolutely on-fire creative team put together a show that was very millennial in its approach to comedy. The Muppet Show was absolutely bursting with meta-gags, crammed full of pop culture references and completely self-aware, with its characters regularly breaking the fourth wall to ham it up to camera.

Each episode also featured celebrity cameos, hit songs of the day came in for zany adaptations, there were plenty of quick cut-away gags and, with Fozzie Bear and his appalling stand-up comedy routines, it also became a determined pioneer of anti-humour. Basically, the show was entirely unlike anything else on the box. It was madness. It was awesome.

In the age of straightforward sitcoms like Happy Days and M*A*S*H the puppets of The Muppet Show stood out like the multi-coloured freaks they were unashamedly proud to be. Famously, when pitching The Muppets to various American TV networks, Henson tried to sell the then unique idea that the show would appeal to two distinct audiences. Not only would kids love it for "the cute, cuddly characters" but "intellectual eggheads" and "freaky, long-haired, dirty, cynical hippies" would also tune in for the show's "fresh and innovative" comedy.

It's a helluva pitch, and one that makes for an excellent story, but it's not much of a surprise to learn that none of the networks were keen on making television for dirty freaks. All passed.

Henson would go on to find a home for his Muppets over in ol' Blighty and in 1976 The Muppet Show beamed into people's living rooms.

To see it for the very first time must have been a trip. Its genius premise of a show about people putting on a show has been aped by such influential and acclaimed series like The Larry Sanders Show, Extras and 30 Rock. And now, ultimately, itself.

That's right, the Muppets are returning to prime time, baby. Earlier this week the American network ABC dropped both the news and a trailer. And, after watching it, I gotta say, it looks pretty good.

Yes, I may be a lot biased, but the thought of a new Muppets series on television is something I can very much get behind. Even if not every aspect of the trailer resonates.

Simply titled The Muppets it now has the gang working on a talk show rather than a variety show. A concession to modernity I have no quarrel with. New gen talk shows like Jimmy Fallon's and Jimmy Kimmel's are skit heavy and mostly filled with brazen attempts to go viral anyway, so having the Muppets in this environment makes total sense. Not only does it allow for seamless and sensible celebrity appearances, it also gives the musical characters plenty to do and lets us once again see Kermit's chaotically flustered approach to producing a show.

I also can't argue with the pedigree of the two fellows running the show: Bill Prady worked directly under Henson on various Muppet properties while Bob Kushell's CV includes shows like The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle. It looks to be in safe hands.

True, there's a strong case to make that the reality-style, mockumentary approach they've opted for is now totally rinsed out. But as the trailer makes clear through Gonzo's brilliant skewering of the genre's tropes, the writers are fully aware of this and will be looking to subvert them over the course of the series.

Selling the idea to the other Muppets - and bonus points for including Lew Zealand in the mix - Kermit describes it as, "sort of an adult Muppet show".

And this is the part I'm finding a little conflicting. The Muppet Show always, sort of, was an adult show. But, like the best Pixar films, or the golden years of The Simpsons, it was one that kids could get into. And that's the vibe I'm hoping is retained, even as the show explores "their personal lives and relationships". It's safe to say things will never escalate to Meet the Feebles extremes but still ... I hope it doesn't get too adult orientated.

But for the most part, I'm inclined to agree with Kermit, who, at the very start of the trailer excitedly describes the announcement as "really great news". For this cynical freak of a Muppet fan, it really is.