Muppet Reality Show is Movin' Right Along

People have been buzzing about "America's Next Muppet" for months now. Disney is still planning to relaunch the Muppets with a prime-time ABC "reality” parody series. Fans are wondering if the recent turn-over in Disney and Muppet Holding Company management will affect the project, which was being strongly supported and pushed along by Chris Cutin (ex-general manager of the Muppet Holding Company). Since the new management has stepped into power the show has made significant progress towards becoming a reality (no pun intended).

A network representative has said that the Muppet project is still in the extremely early stages of development. But ABC has now officially ordered a pilot script and five additional script outlines for "America's Next Muppet". This will be shot in the format of a "reality show", and will use a lot of the same syntax and cinematic grammar that the genre has developed, however like all past Muppet TV shows will be scripted. If ABC is impressed with the pilot episode script and the pilot episode, than the five outlines will start being turned into scripts and episodes. These six episodes are hoped to air in Spring/Summer 2006, and if successful then more episodes could be ordered, and the series continued. I'll keep you all posted as more develops.