The Electric Mayhem Look to Go Platinum in New Series ‘The Muppets Mayhem’
Lily Singh will co-star with Dr. Teeth and co.
(L to R) Janice, Floyd Pepper, Lips, Dr. Teeth, Animal, and Zoot in Disney+'s ‘The Muppets Mayhem.'
Since acquiring the rights to the Muppet characters way back in 2004, Disney has been trying to find the right fit for Jim Henson’s beloved felt creations. Various movie, TV and web-based projects have appeared to differing degrees of success and the company is trying again with new Disney+ musical series ‘The Muppets Mayhem’.
This latest dip into the world of Kermit and co. will eschew the usual focus on the friendly host frog and some of the other stalwarts (though we predict they’ll show up at least in cameos) in favor of ‘The Muppet Show’s house group The Electric Mayhem Band.
The line-up for the groovy, enthusiastic group includes Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet.
For this new show, ‘The Goldbergs’ creator Adam F. Goldberg developed and wrote the initial script alongside Muppet expert Bill Baretta and fellow creative Jeff Yorkes.
Story-wise, the series will follow The Electric Mayhem Band as they go on an epic musical journey to finally record their first studio album. With the help of driven A&R music executive Nora (Lily Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face to face with the current day music scene as they try to finally go platinum.
Singh, of course, is the YouTube personality-turned-chat show host and actress, and whose style would seem to be a good fit for the Muppet world.
(L to R) Zoot, Miss Piggy, Animal, Dr. Teeth, Kermit the Frog, Scooter, Rowlf the Dog, Janice, The Great Gonzo, Floyd Pepper, and Camilla the Chicken in 1984's 'The Muppets Take Manhattan.'
And she’ll be working alongside some veteran Muppet performers for ‘The Muppets Mayhem’ including Barretta (Dr. Teeth), Eric Jacobson (Animal), Matt Vogel (Floyd Pepper), David Rudman (Janice), Dave Goetz (Zoot) and Peter Linz (Lips).
Goldberg, meanwhile, is no stranger to channelling nostalgia thanks to his sitcom, which adapts stories from his own childhood and comes stuff with pop culture references and icons for which he has a deep, abiding love.
The new series has reportedly been in the works for some time, the greenlight quietly flashing while deals with the Muppet team were hammered out.
“We are so excited to bring the story of The Electric Mayhem Band to the front and center of this new series. They’ve been entertaining audiences since ‘The Muppet Show’, which debuted 45 years ago, so it’s wonderful that these characters are finally getting to play lead rather than supporting roles,” says Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studios’ David Lightbody in a statement.
Goldberg also excitedly tweeted about the new deal.
This follows the scrapped attempt by Josh Gad, Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis to launch a new scripted series called ‘Muppets Live Another Day’, while the streaming service has had more success of late with ‘Muppets Haunted Mansion’, which crept in last October, co-written by Baretta.
The Muppets are a tough act to bring to screens – get the mix of comedy, wackiness and heart wrong and you’re left with the likes of 2015’s ‘The Muppets’, while short-form series ‘Muppets Now’ had a better time of it in 2020.
No official date has been announced yet, but ‘The Muppets Mayhem’ could be on screens next year.
(L to R) Janice, Floyd Pepper, Lips, Dr. Teeth, Animal, and Zoot in Disney+'s ‘The Muppets Mayhem.'
