The Muppets: 6 Highlights And 4 Lowlights From The Pilot
9. Lowlight: It's A Little Too Mean
The idea with The Muppets is that we're finally seeing what the gang is really like behind the camera, but the problem is that for now, it's all just a little too mean. Take Kermit for example. He's never been a saint, and in The Muppet Show, he was always running around the set completely overwhelmed and annoyed with everyone's behavior. That carries over here, but on one or two occasions in this pilot, Kermit is more of a jerk than he's ever been.
It's very much like Kermit to put down people's ideas, but it's not really like him to actively insult them in a way that's pretty uncalled for. There's a moment in the first episode where he goes out of his way to diss Gonzo and Rizzo for being bad writers, long after he's already told them he didn't like their pitch. Rejecting the idea is fine and it makes sense for Kermit to do, but taking things a step further so he's just beating them down for no reason doesn't feel like the Muppets.
The series definitely hasn't completely butchered Kermit, but it just needs to shift the scale slightly so he's a tough boss but not such a cruel one. Hopefully, this behavior was just a way of showing how irritable he is due to the Miss Piggy breakup and it's not the new normal.