The Muppets Mayhem - What We Know So Far

Since the 1950s, Jim Henson's "The Muppets" has been a long-running franchise that helped pioneer the blending of puppetry and comedy across multiple media types. All of the projects within Henson and Frank Oz's zany and unique innovations have guided fans of the puppets across seven distinctive decades, with the 2020s set to continue this tradition thanks to Disney+ after the success of the platform's "Muppets Now" short-form series launched in 2020.

The upcoming musical comedy series "The Muppets Mayhem" will explore the music group Electric Mayhem and, in true Muppets fashion, will also feature actors alongside the title characters. It will primarily focus on the band exclusively, and will not follow the traditional pattern of "The Muppet Show" from the 1970s or numerous feature films. The hard rock group appeared in the pilot episode of the series, which first aired in 1975.

With a team of marionette innovators behind the scenes and a regular cast (alongside several celebrity cameos), the series is set to enthrall a new generation of fans. Here is everything we know so far about the program

"The Muppets Mayhem" was first announced as a series in March 2022, with President of Disney Branded Television Ayo Davis stating to Deadline, "The Muppets are renowned for quality, creativity and unrivaled, fun storytelling for the whole family." The executive then shared how proud the company is to have the program's talented team of creators within its brand. In August of that year, co-showrunner Jeff Yorkes tweeted that the show's first season had officially wrapped.

A teaser for the show was released on April 4, 2023, and revealed a release date of Wednesday, May 10, on Disney+. The first installment of the new musical show will contain a total of 10 episodes, which is a few more than the standard of between 6-8 that many of the other app's original projects contain. It is not yet known if the 10 parts will all release at once on this date or if the installments will follow the typical trajectory for the streaming app and release weekly. 

According to Entertainment Weekly, the plot of "The Muppets Mayhem" will hone in on a core group of muppets consisting of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem in place of the heavily featured appearances of Kermit, Miss Piggy, and more. The long-running house band of the core Muppets lineup will be assisted by amateur music producer Nora (Lilly Singh). The lead character helps the rockers navigate the grueling ins and outs of the music industry as they strive to make their first album.

Season 1 of the series will also explore the band's navigation of the modern-day rock scene and a forever-altered music landscape thanks to the disappearance of physical media in favor of streaming and downloads. For many long-waiting fans puzzled over Disney's not knowing what to do with "The Muppets," a fully formed narrative is welcome news after a handful of specials and a short sketch show in recent years.

As for what else to expect from the debut installment of the show, Jeff Yorkes told Entertainment Weekly, "We have the freedom to go anywhere with these characters — they're not as well known as the core characters. People recognize them, but we have the freedom to fill out their backstory and do whatever we want."

In addition to Lilly Singh starring as Nora, Variety reported that the rest of the main (human) characters were cast mainly during the summer of 2022. These characters include her influencer sister Hannah (Saara Chaudry), who assists Nora in helping Dr. Teeth and his group flourish in the 2020s music scene. Tahj Mowry will also star as Gary "Moog" Moogwski, a longtime Electric Mayhem fan, and Anders Holm as Nora's ex-boyfriend J.J., who still holds a flame for her.

In March 2022, Deadline also shared details about the voice cast for the comedy program, with co-creator Bill Barretta voicing lead band member Dr. Teeth, in addition to Matt Vogel as Floyd Pepper, Peter Linz as Lips, David Rudman as Janice, Eric Jacobson as Animal, and Dave Goelz as Zoot.

With the release of the official trailer, several celebrity cameos were featured throughout the clip. Some famous names appearing as themselves or versions modeled on their personalities include "Weird Al" Yankovich, Lil Nas X, Tommy Lee, Cheech & Chong, Morgan Freeman, Billy Corgan, Kesha, Zedd, Susanna Hoffs, Rachel Bloom, Ryan Seacrest, Nicole Byer, Paula Abdul, Kevin Smith, and many more.

In addition to Jeff Yorkes, who has served as a producer, screenwriter, and editor since the 2000s, "The Muppets Mayhem" will feature two additional showrunners: Adam F. Goldberg and Bill Barretta (the voice of Dr. Teeth). Goldberg is best known as the creator and showrunner of ABC's '80s sitcom "The Goldbergs," loosely based on his childhood in Pennsylvania.

Of the three showrunners, Barretta is a veteran of "The Muppets," where he has voiced numerous characters since 1991, including the Electric Mayhem leader. When it comes to the original idea for the new Disney + series, Bill Barretta was inspired to develop the concept after being involved in a music set Electric Mayhem played in 2016 at the Outside Lands Music Festival.

He told Entertainment Weekly how astonishing the set list was and added, "It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had with the Muppets. There was something like 30,000 people that came to the park. I thought, 'Well, there's something there.' What if this band went on the road? What if the band went on tour?" He concluded, saying the performance led him to expand on the idea for a series about the group since not much was known about them.

The trailer for "The Muppets Mayhem" was released on April 12 and offered a sizable promo for what audiences can expect to see during Season 1. The clip begins with real music stars like Tommy Lee, Chris Stapleton, and Lil Nas X singing the praises of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem before revealing the story's central plot about the band never recording a proper album.

Viewers are then introduced to Nora, who explains to the group that she would cherish the opportunity to help them make a record. After a compromise where it is agreed that the band will "bring the old school" while Singh's character integrates more modern sounds, the trailer then introduces some animosity the Electric Mayhem encounters thanks to Nora's controversial tweet about the group.

The promotional package also harkens back to the hijinks and slapstick comedy that has made the band so popular for nearly 70 years.

Fans, both new and old, of "The Muppets" can find out how the new series compares to its multiple predecessors when "The Muppets Mayhem" drops on Disney+ on May 10.