The Muppets: 6 Highlights And 4 Lowlights From The Pilot

Beyond just sex jokes, this is what an adult Muppet show can look like. At the end of the pilot, we see the Kermit and Miss Piggy break up that we've heard about going into the series. Disney hyped it up for months, sparking real life social media outcry over the couple's split. These are characters we grew up with, and now we're seeing them go through actual relationship issues? They've broken up in the franchise before, but it was usually played for laughs. Now, Kermit and Miss Piggy are going on Jimmy Kimmel and actually fighting in a way that's kind of upsetting. It's just as sad in this episode, with the scene being played completely straight.

By putting the breakup front and center and advertising it so heavily, ABC was presenting a clear message: this is a Muppet show where you'll actually care about the Muppets and their emotions. In previous iterations, that's not really true. We love the characters and they're fun to watch, but rarely are there moments that explore them as creatures with feelings that matter. The Miss Piggy/Kermit breakup scene is where the series shows the greatest potential to be something different: it can be the one Muppet show with serious, meaningful, sad moments. If they find the right balance, still keeping everything light and fun, this could grow into a really unique series.