Broadcaster ABC axes the reboot

The reboot of The Muppets TV show has been axed after just one season.

Although 9 million American viewers tuned into the first episode of the revival last year, by the time the series ended in March, it had shed 70 per cent of those viewers, logging ratings of 2.7 million for the season finale.

Many critics disliked the change in tone from the joyous showbiz optimism of the original to a mockumentary style that followed the characters’ personal and professional lives backstage on Miss Piggy’s talk show.

The New York Post called it ‘a betrayal of Jim Henson’s tender, optimistic vision — a pointless prostitution of a children’s entertainment franchise’.

And when it was picked up by Sky 1 in the UK, the Daily Telegraph said: ‘We don’t want an archly adult take on our furry favourites. We want the joyous, giddy, crowd-pleasing, panto-esque romp that we fondly remember.’

Original show runners Bill Prady and Bob Kushell, from The Big Bang Theory and Anger Management respectively, were ditched midway through the season in an attempt to reverse its fortunes. 

But the changes new executive producer Kristin Newman brought in were not enough to save the show, and the ABC network confirmed the cancellation last night.

Published: 13 May 2016