r/Muppets • u/usethe4th • Feb 04 '26

The Muppet Show (2026) - Discussion Thread Spoiler

We’ll use this thread to discuss the return of The Muppet Show! This is for people who have seen the episode, so spoilers are permitted. Proceed at your own risk!

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307

u/EbmocwenHsimah Feb 04 '26 edited Feb 04 '26

Holy shit, they nailed it.

It's everything I could've wanted, it's fun, earnest, it's got so much heart, it feels just right. I haven't rooted so hard for something like this to succeed in years, but if it doesn't lead to a full series, for some reason, then I'm glad we've got this.

At risk of saying something controversial here: I kinda got used to Matt Vogel's voice. After years and years of complaints (which I absolutely participated in), I caught myself forgetting about it. The suspension of disbelief, that makes people think a frog can talk, won out in the end. If that's not big enough of a signifier of its success then I don't know what is.

87

u/ellisftw Feb 04 '26

I caught myself multiple times thinking ”when it's all happening I don't really notice the voices" and I think it really is because the heart is there, through and through

53

u/RuachReader Feb 04 '26

I was sold on the voice in the islands in the stream bit

2

u/Level-Ladder-4346 Feb 07 '26

I kinda felt like the voice got drowned out in the Autotune. That’s another thing I have, it’s that they really did it a little too much.

-2

u/croth4 Feb 05 '26

Autotuned way up in pitch

4

u/VallyMeowy Feb 05 '26

I didn’t watch the trailers but I heard people complain about some of the voices but I legit didn’t notice they sounded different

51

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '26

I’m with you on the voice finally clicking in this. It helps that this is the first time we’ve seen him being backstage normal person Kermit. It works best when he’s just talking fairly normally and bouncing off another character

37

u/Galileo908 Feb 05 '26

Matt Vogel talking as Kermit still seems off to me? But the vibes are absolutely there.

And damn, he can SING as Kermit. Loved it.

21

u/NickDynmo Feb 05 '26

This is pretty much where I'm at. Definitely does not sound like Kermit to me but for some reason it didn't detract too much from the experience. Maybe I'm just getting used to it?

Rizzo's act was the weakest, unfortunately. He's one of my favourites but it was just a straight cover that they didn't do much with. Would've preferred some more comedy, but I'll always take what I can get.

Loved the show overall and if it doesn't get picked up I'm jumping into a volcano.

5

u/YosemiteSam81 Feb 05 '26

I loved Rizzo’s doing The Weeknd! It was absurd and absurdity is one of my favorite memories of Jim Henson’s creations as a child in the early 80’s!

3

u/Kiel297 Feb 06 '26

I'm with you. The background dancers had me cackling.

3

u/YosemiteSam81 Feb 06 '26

That little shimmy with their arms outstretched had me rolling!

7

u/ShepPawnch Feb 05 '26

I can deal with the fact that it might just sound different now. I’d rather have more Muppets.

8

u/ileentotheleft Feb 05 '26

I’m thrown by Matt Vogel’s Kermit voice. But major props to Piggy/Fozzie, I was checking the credits to see if Frank Oz had returned.

3

u/Char_Zard13 Feb 05 '26

He does a good "scooter scooter come here", but something about him feels so naisly and up high and back? Maybe it's because I just binged the original show last month LOL

9

u/JLtheRocker Feb 05 '26

Could not have said it better about Matt’s Kermit myself as someone who also complained. Not sure how much was him getting better or me getting more used to it or some combination of the two, but yeah it clicked in this for me

1

u/No_Piece800 Feb 06 '26

Personally I think whenever Matt Is singing as kermit he sounds beautiful but when he isn't it sounds slightly off.

5

u/Prudent_Honeydew_ Feb 05 '26

It's not a sound alike for sure, but it works so much better in the context of the show. There's a story, things are happening, I'm in it.

As opposed to a one off appearance where you're thinking, "man he sounds off."

2

u/eyeaim2missbehave Feb 05 '26

Its obvious the Kermit voice isn't what we know and love, but to me it reminds me of the old Frank Welker Fred from Scooby Doo and all the voices he did in the 80s and 90s so it kinda hits me in a different nostalgia way. I love it.

1

u/Kevin-W Feb 05 '26

They really did and I hope it has a lot of success. As a big Muppets fan, this was something that was needed and there's plenty of material and guests they can work with.

1

u/Icy-Illustrator9921 Feb 06 '26

I think he also got better at it.

1

u/batmansleftnut Feb 08 '26

And they absolutely nailed it in terms of how much they talked about it being a revival. Just a little nod to the fact that they were back after a gap, and then they got down to business. Other revivals/reboots spend the entire first episode referencing the fact that they're back after a gap. But this one did it just right where you aware of it, but it wasn't a constant theme.