American TV series or program
The Muppets Mayhem
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Genre
| |
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Based on
| Characters
created
by
Jim Henson
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Developed by
| |
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Starring
| |
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Music by
| Mick Giacchino
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Country of origin
| United States
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Original language
| English
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No.
of seasons
| 1
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No.
of episodes
| 10
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Executive producers
|
- Adam F. Goldberg
- Bill Barretta
- Michael Bostick
- Kris Eber
- David Lightbody
- Leigh Slaughter
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Producer
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Production companies
| |
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Network
| Disney+
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Release
| May 10, 2023
(
2023-05-10
)
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Muppets Now
(2020)
|
The Muppets Mayhem
is an American
musical
comedy
television series featuring the
Muppet
musical group
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
. The series was developed by
Adam F. Goldberg
,
Bill Barretta
, and Jeff Yorkes, for
ABC Signature
and
The Muppets Studio
. The series stars
Lilly Singh
,
Tahj Mowry
,
Saara Chaudry
,
Anders Holm
and Muppet performers Barretta,
Dave Goelz
,
Eric Jacobson
,
Peter Linz
,
David Rudman
, and
Matt Vogel
. The streaming service
Disney+
released all ten episodes of
The Muppets Mayhem
on May 10, 2023.
[1]
[2]
It received generally positive reviews from critics.
In November 2023, it was announced the series was cancelled after one season.
[3]
Premise
[
edit
]
Junior
A&R
executive Nora must deal with the madness caused by
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
, who come face-to-face with the modern musical business as they try to record their first-ever
album
with which to go
platinum
.
[1]
Cast and characters
[
edit
]
Main
[
edit
]
- Lilly Singh
as Nora Singh, a junior executive at Wax Town records.
- Bill Barretta
as
Dr. Teeth
, keyboard player and nominal frontman of The Electric Mayhem.
- Barretta also performs Davis Cactus.
- Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
as Penny Waxman, Nora's boss and Dr. Teeth's ex-girlfriend.
- Dave Goelz
as
Zoot
, the Mayhem's spaced-out saxophone player.
- Goelz also performs Jimmy Shoe and
Waldorf
.
- Eric Jacobson
as
Animal
, a frenzied monster and the out-of-control drummer for the Mayhem.
- Peter Linz
as
Lips
, the Mayhem's incomprehensible trumpet player.
- David Rudman
as
Janice
, the Mayhem's flower child lead guitarist.
- Matt Vogel
as
Floyd Pepper
, the sarcastic bass player for the Mayhem and Janice's boyfriend.
- Saara Chaudry
as Hannah Singh, Nora's younger sister and a successful social media influencer.
- Tahj Mowry
as Gary "Moog" Moogwski, an audio engineer and "super fan" of the Electric Mayhem.
- Anders Holm
as JJ, a music executive and Nora's ex-boyfriend.
Supporting
[
edit
]
David Bizzaro and
Stephanie D'Abruzzo
perform Dr. Teeth's controlling dentist parents, Gerald and Tina Teeth. Other supporting Muppet performers include Jordan Brownlee,
Alice Dinnean
, Bradley Freeman, Jr., Donna Kimball,
Tim Lagasse
,
Bruce Lanoil
,
Drew Massey
, Sarah Sarang Oh, Michael Oosterom, Nicolettte Santino, Stoph Scheer, Michelan Sisti, Art Vega and Alex Villa.
Guest
[
edit
]
Paula Abdul
,
Steve Aoki
,
Karamo Brown
,
Sofia Carson
,
Charlamagne Tha God
,
Tommy Chong
,
Billy Corgan
,
deadmau5
,
Desiigner
,
Morgan Freeman
,
Susanna Hoffs
,
Peter Jackson
,
Kesha
,
Tommy Lee
,
Lil Nas X
,
Cheech Marin
,
Ziggy Marley
,
Ryan Seacrest
,
Kevin Smith
,
Chris Stapleton
,
Danny Trejo
,
"Weird Al" Yankovic
and
Zedd
play themselves. Archival footage is shown from episodes of
The Muppet Show
featuring Muppet performers
Jim Henson
as Teeth,
Frank Oz
as Animal,
Jerry Nelson
as Floyd and
Richard Hunt
as Janice, as well as
Elton John
as himself.
Episodes
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Development
[
edit
]
Following a performance at the 2016
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
, Muppet performer and writer
Bill Barretta
developed a pitch for a series based on
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
.
[7]
At the same time, Muppet fan
Adam F. Goldberg
and partner Jeff Yorkes began developing their own project based on the characters; they were interested in a project about the band because he felt their lack of popularity compared to other characters allowed them to "do anything with these guys, because people just know them enough".
[7]
While Yorkes originally pitched the idea to Goldberg as a feature film, he instead suggested developing it as a series.
[8]
The three eventually began working together on combining their ideas onto a single series.
[9]
On February 7, 2022,
ABC Signature
and
The Muppets Studio
announced developing a 10-episode series for
Disney+
based on
The Muppets
. Written by Barretta, Goldberg, and Yorkes,
The Muppets Mayhem
is the first series developed by Goldberg for ABC following his deal with the studio in 2019.
[2]
The decision to develop a series based on
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
came from the success of a series of music videos on the Muppets'
YouTube
channel.
[10]
The series was greenlit shortly before its announcement, after finalizing deals with the Muppet performers.
[1]
Goldberg and Barretta also executive-produce alongside Michael Bostick, Kris Eber, and The Muppets Studio executives David Lightbody and Leigh Slaughter, while Yorkes is a co-executive-producer.
[1]
On November 21, 2023, it was announced the series would not be picked up for another season.
[3]
Writing
[
edit
]
Writers for the series include Julie Bean, Hannah Friedman, Crystal Shaw, Hans Rodionoff, Gabrielle Rodriguez, and Danielle Maransky.
[11]
According to executive producer Kris Eber, the filmmakers approached the series as if it was a 5-hour-long feature film.
[11]
The series explores the backstory of Electric Mayhem, which has not been depicted in previous projects; the writers worked closely with the Muppet performers to ensure their ideas stayed faithful to the characters.
[8]
The series aimed for a more grounded setting than most Muppet productions, lacking elements such as "talking fruit", with Goldberg saying the show would "[tell] a regular story in the real world with Muppets".
[7]
Goldberg said this was because he wanted to portray the band as being "like real people, real, breathing entities that can be in the real world".
[8]
The number of Muppet elements and characters present in the series were determined according to how natural they were integrated in the story, such as the appearance of Muppet bunnies, which Barretta described as "something that Animal's always had". While appearances from characters such as
Kermit the Frog
and
Miss Piggy
were considered, they were discarded early during development in order to keep the series focused on Electric Mayhem.
[8]
Yorkes said the series' comedy would derive from how the band only do whatever they want while Nora tries to lead them in making their album.
[7]
Casting
[
edit
]
Along with the series' announcement, it was reported that
Lilly Singh
would portray Nora, a junior executive struggling with the chaos caused by
The Electric Mayhem
.
[1]
Muppet performers Barretta,
Dave Goelz
,
Eric Jacobson
,
Matt Vogel
,
David Rudman
, and
Peter Linz
reprised their roles as Electric Mayhem members Dr. Teeth, Zoot, Animal, Floyd Pepper, Janice, and Lips, respectively.
[1]
On April 5, 2022, it was confirmed that
Tahj Mowry
joined the cast.
[12]
On June 9, 2022,
Saara Chaudry
and
Anders Holm
joined the cast.
[13]
Filming
[
edit
]
Production for
The Muppets Mayhem
began April 25, 2022, and ended August 5, 2022.
[14]
Craig Kief serves as director of photography.
[2]
[15]
[16]
[17]
Matt Sohn and
Kimmy Gatewood
will direct episodes.
[17]
[18]
On July 2, 2022, it was reported that an accident took place in which a crew truck crashed into a tree on the edge of a cliff near the
Griffith Observatory
.
[19]
Soundtrack
[
edit
]
Walt Disney Records
released a series soundtrack album digitally and on
streaming
on May 10, 2023,
[20]
alongside a
vinyl LP
debut album titled
The Electric Mayhem
that featured the first fourteen tracks of the full soundtrack.
[21]
It featured the original songs written by
Linda Perry
, and cover versions of popular songs.
[22]
The soundtrack topped the
Billboard
Kid Albums
chart, the first ever Muppets album to do so.
[23]
Reception
[
edit
]
Audience viewership
[
edit
]
On May 4, 2023, according to Jordan Williams of
Screen Rant
, "The anticipation for
The Muppets Mayhem
clearly extends beyond its core child fanbase, as the series has generated remarkable buzz with over 1.3 million online interactions, becoming the ninth-most hyped May release on Facebook."
[24]
Critical response
[
edit
]
The
review aggregator
website
Rotten Tomatoes
reported an approval rating of 83% based on 23 reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "
The Muppets Mayhem
might be too slight to find the Rainbow Connection, but its ragtag band of plucky puppets and plethora of showbiz gags make for a solid addition to the franchise.
[25]
On
Metacritic
, the series has a
weighted average score
of 70 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
[26]
Accolades
[
edit
]
Potential future projects
[
edit
]
Goldberg has expressed interest in developing a "Muppetverse" similar to
Marvel Studios
and
Star Wars
stating, "it was like, we're just doing a show about the band; let's focus on this one very specific corner of the Muppet Universe... And from there, let's now kind of branch out and do even more. So that was always our idea. In fact, we were kind of more excited about introducing new Muppet characters. That was always a goal for us."
[8]
Following the show's cancellation, Goldberg revealed on social media that plans for a Muppetverse were still happening.
[31]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2022).
"
'The Muppets Mayhem' Comedy Series Ordered By Disney+; Lilly Singh Stars, Adam F. Goldberg EPs"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
March 7,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Goldberg, Lesley (March 7, 2022).
"
'Muppets Mayhem' Series a Go at Disney+"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
March 7,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Swift, Andy (November 21, 2023).
"
The Muppets Mayhem
Cancelled at Disney+ After One Season"
.
TVLine
. Retrieved
November 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Images"
.
Disney Plus Press
.
- ^
"The Muppets Mayhem"
.
Writers Guild of America West
. Retrieved
April 25,
2023
.
- ^
"Shows A-Z ? muppets mayhem, the on disney plus"
.
The Futon Critic
. Retrieved
April 25,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Lenker, Maureen Lee (March 27, 2023).
"
'The Muppets Mayhem' is ready to jam in first look at new Disney + series"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Retrieved
March 28,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"The Muppets Mayhem Creators on Blending Heart, Humor, and Rock n' Roll"
.
Gizmodo
. May 9, 2023
. Retrieved
May 9,
2023
.
- ^
The Muppets Mayhem
Panel at
New York Comic Con
2022
- ^
"Syndicated Comics"
.
The Beat
. October 9, 2022
. Retrieved
October 29,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
The Barretta Brothers episode 53
2354
on
YouTube
- ^
Del Rosario, Alexandra (April 5, 2022).
"
'The Muppets Mayhem': Tahj Mowry Joins Lilly Singh For Disney+ Comedy Series"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
April 5,
2022
.
- ^
Cordero, Rosy (June 9, 2022).
"
'The Muppets Mayhem': Saara Chaudry & Anders Holm Join Disney+ Series"
.
Deadline Hollywood
.
- ^
@JeffYorks on Twitter
August 5, 2022
- ^
@JeffYorks on Twitter
April 24, 2022
- ^
"Matt Vogel"
.
Facebook
.
- ^
a
b
@craigkief_asc on Instagram
April 25, 2022
- ^
@kimmygatewood on Instagram
May 31, 2022
- ^
Andreeva, Nellie (July 2, 2022).
"
'The Muppets Mayhem' Crew Involved In Accident During Filming Of Disney+ Series"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
July 3,
2022
.
- ^
"Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem"
.
presave.umusic.com
. Retrieved
April 18,
2023
.
- ^
"@MickGiacchino"
.
Twitter
. Retrieved
April 18,
2023
.
- ^
"Disney+'s 'The Muppets Mayhem' to Feature Original Music by Linda Perry | Film Music Reporter"
. Retrieved
April 18,
2023
.
- ^
Zellner, Xander (May 24, 2023).
"Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem Hit No. 1 on a Billboard Chart for the First Time"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
May 24,
2023
.
- ^
Williams, Jordan (May 4, 2023).
"The 20 Most Anticipated New Releases of May 2023"
.
Screen Rant
. Retrieved
July 2,
2023
.
- ^
"
The Muppets Mayhem
"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango Media
. Retrieved
May 12,
2023
.
- ^
"
The Muppets Mayhem Reviews
"
.
Metacritic
.
Fandom, Inc.
Retrieved
May 10,
2023
.
- ^
Pedersen, Erik (June 30, 2023).
"Golden Trailer Awards: 'Cocaine Bear', 'Only Murders In The Building' & 'Oppenheimer' Among Top Winners ? Full List"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
July 2,
2023
.
- ^
Prusakowski, Steven (June 30, 2023).
"Winners Announced for The 2023 Golden Trailer Awards"
.
AwardsRadar.com
. Retrieved
July 2,
2023
.
- ^
Coates, Tyler (November 2, 2023).
"Children's & Family Emmy Awards: Disney Dominates Nominations"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
November 26,
2023
.
- ^
Petski, Denise (June 4, 2024).
"Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Beyonce, Timothee Chalamet, Ayo Edebiri Among 2024 Kids' Choice Awards Nominees ? Full List"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
June 4,
2024
.
- ^
@adamfgoldberg (November 21, 2023).
"Huge thanks to the critic & fan love that got us 6 Emmy noms and a #1 Billboard album. Mayhem was truly the most joyful and collaborative experience of my career. From day one all I've cared about is creating a Muppet-verse and YES I am already cooking up more Muppets with @billbarretta & @JeffYorkes! IT'S HAPPENING!!!"
(
Tweet
) – via
Twitter
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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Current
| Original
| |
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Continuations
| |
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International content
|
- All the Same... or Not
(2022, Brazil)
- The Chorus: Success, Here I Go
(2022, Brazil)
- Daddies on Request
(2022, Mexico)
- Intertwined
(2021, Argentina)
- It Was Always Me
(2022, Colombia)
- Mila in the Multiverse
(2023, Brazil)
- Soundtrack #1
(2022, South Korea)
- Soundtrack #2
(2023, South Korea)
- Tierra Incognita
(2022, Argentina)
- Weekend Family
(2022, France)
- Italia's Got Talent
(season 13, 2023, Italy)
|
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|
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Upcoming
| Original
| |
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International content
| |
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Ended
| Original
| |
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Continuations
| |
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International content
|
- Arnoldo's Ristorantino
(2021, Argentina)
- Delicacies Destiny
(2021, China)
- @Gina Yei: #WithAllMyHeartAndMore
(2023, Puerto Rico)
- It's All Right!
(2023, Brazil)
- In the Soop: Friendcation
(2022, South Korea)
- The Knights of Castelcorvo
(2020, Italy)
- The Low Tone Club
(2023, Colombia)
- Matildas: The World at Our Feet
(2023, Australia)
- Parallels
(2022, France)
- Snowdrop
(2022, South Korea)
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