The Muppets: 6 Highlights And 4 Lowlights From The Pilot

One of the joys of having the Muppets back on TV is that all of the minor characters can pop back up again. In a 90 minute film, it's difficult to give everyone something to do, but with a series that will likely last many seasons, every single character can show up at some point. So far, they're all being used incredibly well.

The best use of a minor character has got to be Sam the Eagle, who provides broadcast standards notes. Sam has always been the guy who's outraged by everything the Muppets are doing and considers himself to be far above it, so this is the perfect role for him. He won't allow Kermit to use words like crotchety and gesticulate, and later, he pops up out of nowhere to scold Kermit for saying "hell." 

There's also the welcome return of Muppets who have been absent for a long time like Pepe the King Prawn and Rizzo the Rat, both of whom had very little to do in the last two movies. There are still a few Muppets who are notably absent like Walter and Rowlf, though, so hopefully they will be brought in going forward along with some other side characters. With literally hundreds of Muppets throughout the series' history, they certainly have a lot to choose from.