NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

The Muppets return to prime time

Dominic Corry
By Dominic Corry
TimeOut·
24 Oct, 2015 01:30 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Miss Piggy, Kermit the frog and the muppet gang reunite for a new TV series, The Muppets. Photo / Supplied TVNZ
Miss Piggy, Kermit the frog and the muppet gang reunite for a new TV series, The Muppets. Photo / Supplied TVNZ

Miss Piggy, Kermit the frog and the muppet gang reunite for a new TV series, The Muppets. Photo / Supplied TVNZ

The Muppets are back and better than ever in a new docu-comedy format, writes Dominic Corry.

It's The Muppets, but not as you know them. Fresh from the success of the 2011 movie reboot (and its 2014 sequel), Hollywood's leading felt-based entertainers are heading back to primetime TV for the first time since 1996's ill-fated Muppets Tonight.

Premiering on November 1 on TV2, The Muppets will, as with the old Muppet Show, chronicle the making of a live TV broadcast, but with one critical difference: it will all be presented documentary style, a la The Office and Modern Family.

TimeOut has been granted an audience with co-creators of the new series, Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory) and Bob Kushell, as well as Kermit the Frog himself, who takes it upon himself to explain the genesis of the format:

"The Muppets are doing a late-night chat show with Miss Piggy called Up Late With Miss Piggy," he tells TimeOut.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Bill and Bob came along with this wonderful idea to shoot behind the scenes. It's interesting and scary at the same time, y'know? You get to see things that we wouldn't normally necessarily want you to see."

"We are very appreciative of Kermit that we've got unprecedented access to whats been going on in the personal lives of the Muppets and the situation with Miss Piggy." says Prady. "We have unfettered acccess."

The "situation" referred to by Prady is the bombshell that made headlines all around the world: Kermit and Miss Piggy are no longer an item.

"It's a day-by-day, moment by moment process," says Kermit solemnly. "It can be tough to work with your ex. It can be tough to be the executive producer on your ex's late night TV show. Especially when your ex is a pig.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

People change. So do frogs and pigs. We were together for a long time. I don't really wanna go into it too much."

Kermit does admit to having a new girlfriend, though: "Denise. She's not a showbiz person. She's a pig. I have an attraction to pigs." With the docu-comedy format and Miss Piggy's late night chat show, The Muppets taps into multiple modern comedic styles.

The Muppets are doing a late-night chat show with Miss Piggy called Up Late With Miss Piggy. Photo / Supplied TVNZ
The Muppets are doing a late-night chat show with Miss Piggy called Up Late With Miss Piggy. Photo / Supplied TVNZ

"When [the original] Muppet Show was on," explains Prady. "It mocked variety shows because that was the dominant form of television at the time. We looked at the way television is now, and said 'what is the Muppet version of that?'. The goal here is to be exactly the same but completely different. To very much honour The Muppet Show but at the same time do something that is contemporary and works on television now."

Doing so includes replicating the loose, improvised camera work of documentaries with a cast not especially prone to improvised movement. "To a certain extent, the production side of this is a magic trick," says Prady.

Discover more

Entertainment

Kermit & Miss Piggy split

05 Aug 08:00 AM
Entertainment

Ten best shows coming to TV

17 Sep 06:00 AM
Entertainment

TVNZ's new season: All you need to know

16 Sep 06:00 AM
Entertainment

Remember these? Our favourite kids TV of yesteryear

19 Sep 10:00 PM

"Getting it to look haphazard and casual and getting the documentary shots that are dirty and messy and catch things that you're not supposed to catch and have cameramen in hallways catching private moments. Because it's frogs and bears and blue things with noses."

"It's a funny thing," says Kermit. "The members of the Muppet 'troupe' have always played 'ourselves' in our films. I'm Kermit the Frog and I 'play' Kermit the Frog.

And a lot of what we've done in our past shows and projects - it's not me, it's me playing a version of me. But this time you're gonna see..."

The proceedings are suddenly interupted at this point by Miss Piggy, who enters unannounced. Sitting down next to her amphibious ex, she wastes no time in dismissing concerns about having their lack of a relationship play out in public.

"Any kind of attention is good publicity. I have no problem working with my ex. It's fine. Dating moi is like flying close to the sun."

"It's entirely professional," affirms Kermit. "I am taking a behind-the-scenes role on Piggy's show. We're both professional adults." Meeting Miss Piggy in 'person', TimeOut is struck by how easily she fits the prevailing mode of modern celebrity stardom.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
"Moi has been a role model for a generation of little starlets. All those little starlets that are running around now, they all modelled themselves after moi," Miss Piggy explains.
"Moi has been a role model for a generation of little starlets. All those little starlets that are running around now, they all modelled themselves after moi," Miss Piggy explains.

"It's true," Piggy admits. "Moi has been a role model for a generation of little starlets. All those little starlets that are running around now, they all modelled themselves after moi."

Prady chimes in: "Piggy is a remarkable personality, but one of the things we're hoping to show for the first time in this series is a little bit behind the public persona, behind the mask.

We might even get a camera into Piggy's house in the morning and see if we can catch her before she gets her make-up on.

"In this age of computer-generated everything, green screens and special effects - these [characters] are actually here. I think the idea that there are physical things existing in the world that still feel magical and wonderful that we have is really special."

Lowdown

What: The Muppets
When: Sunday November 1, 7pm
Where: TV2

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

NZ International Film Festival 2025 Trailer

Entertainment

Life of regrets: Actor Michael Madsen's struggles before his death

04 Jul 02:41 AM
Entertainment

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom confirm split in joint statement

04 Jul 02:27 AM

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Royal NZ Air Force establishes first dedicated space unit
New Zealand

Royal NZ Air Force establishes first dedicated space unit

04 Jul 06:24 AM
All Blacks captain says inexperienced French team will ‘fire everything at us’
All Blacks

All Blacks captain says inexperienced French team will ‘fire everything at us’

04 Jul 06:23 AM
The search for answers after ferry tragedy between Java and Bali
World

The search for answers after ferry tragedy between Java and Bali

04 Jul 06:15 AM
The nearly fatal gas exposure case that rocked Greymouth
New Zealand

The nearly fatal gas exposure case that rocked Greymouth

04 Jul 06:03 AM
'It's all safe mum': Murder accused allegedly took $85k hidden in mother's dressing gown
Crime

'It's all safe mum': Murder accused allegedly took $85k hidden in mother's dressing gown

04 Jul 06:00 AM

Latest from Entertainment

NZ International Film Festival 2025 Trailer

NZ International Film Festival 2025 Trailer

NZ International Film Festival begins on July 31.

Life of regrets: Actor Michael Madsen's struggles before his death

Life of regrets: Actor Michael Madsen's struggles before his death

04 Jul 02:41 AM
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom confirm split in joint statement

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom confirm split in joint statement

04 Jul 02:27 AM
Actor Michael Madsen dead at 67

Actor Michael Madsen dead at 67

03 Jul 08:05 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search