Just a few weeks back, there were not one, but two new series featuring the Muppets in the works at Disney+—a development that was somewhat confusing. In addition to a scripted series produced and written by Frozen’s Josh Gad (he’s the snowman guy), which we first heard about back in 2018, the streaming platform had ordered an unscripted, short-form series called Muppets Now. That series, described as a variety show in the vein of the classic The Muppet Show, is still moving forward and is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2020. But what of this other Muppets series, produced by Frozen snowman guy? Deadline has officially revealed its fate: It’s dead, y’all. More specifically, the cause of death is listed as a “discrepancy between the writing team’s creative vision and that of the top brass at Disney-owned Muppet Studio.” Just some good old fashioned creative differences, is all.
Gad’s Muppets series, which he was co-producing with Once Upon A Time creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, is no longer moving forward at Disney+. The series, titled Muppets Live Another Day (stepping on James Bond’s toes, those scamps), would have picked up where Muppets Take Manhattan left off, with Kermit reuniting his Muppet pals to search for Rowlf (the dog one), who has gone missing. Honestly, it’s probably for the best as two shows featuring the Muppets might have confused viewers, particularly since Disney+ is geared primarily toward families. And as recent history has taught us, it’s not exactly easy to successfully revive the Muppets, despite their relatively simple puppet biology, which is made primarily of felt and hopes and dreams.