A variety show that’s still revered for its absurdist, slapstick humour debuted 50 years ago. It starred an irreverent band of characters made of foam and fleece.

Long after The Muppet Show’s original 120-episode run ended in 1981, the legend and legacy of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and other creations concocted by puppeteer and TV producer Jim Henson have kept on growing. Thanks to the Muppets’ film franchise and the wonders of YouTube, the wacky gang is still delighting and expanding its fan base.

As a scholar of popular culture, I believe that the Muppets’ reign, which began in the 1950s, has helped shape global culture, including educational television. Along the way, the puppets and the people who bring them to life have earned billions in revenue.

Kermit’s origin story

Muppets, a portmanteau of marionette and puppet, first appeared on TV in the Washington DC region in 1955, when Henson created a short sketch show called Sam and Friends with his future wife, Jane Nebel.

The Muppets continue to make a profit and delight 50 years since they started out

Their motley cast of puppets, including a lizard-like character named Kermit, sang parody songs and performed comedy sketches.

Henson’s creations were soon popping up in segments on other TV shows, including Today and late-night programmes. Rowlf the Dog appeared in Canadian dog food commercials before joining The Jimmy Dean Show as the host’s sidekick.

After that show ended, Rowlf and Dean performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, where Kermit had occasionally appeared since 1961.

From Sesame Street to SNL

As Rowlf and Kermit made the rounds on variety shows, journalist Joan Ganz Cooney and psychologist Lloyd Morrisett were creating a new educational programme. They invited Henson to provide a Muppet ensemble for the show.

Henson waived his performance fee to maintain rights over the characters who became the most famous residents of Sesame Street. The likes of Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Big Bird were joined by Kermit who, by the time the show premiered in 1969, was identified as a frog.

When Sesame Street became a hit, Henson worried that his Muppets would be typecast as children’s entertainment. Another groundbreaking show, aimed at young adults, offered him a chance to avoid that.

Saturday Night Live’s debut on NBC in 1975 — when the show was called Saturday Night — included a segment called The Land of Gorch, in which Henson’s grotesque creatures drank, smoked and cracked crass jokes. The Land of Gorch segments ended after Saturday Night Live’s first season.

Miss Piggy gets her close-up

The Muppet Show was years in the making. ABC eventually aired two TV specials in 1974 and 1975 that were meant to be pilots for a US-produced Muppet Show.

After no American network picked up his quirky series, Henson partnered with British entertainment entrepreneur Lew Grade to produce a series for ATV, a British network, that featured Kermit and other Muppets. The new ensemble included Fozzie Bear, Animal and Miss Piggy — Muppets originally performed by frequent Henson collaborator Frank Oz.

The Muppet Show parodied variety shows on which Henson had appeared. Connections he’d made along the way paid off: Many celebrities he met on those shows’ sets would guest star on The Muppet Show, including everyone from Rita Moreno and Lena Horne to Joan Baez and Johnny Cash.

The Muppet Show, which was staged and shot at a studio near London, debuted on September 5, 1976 in the UK, before airing in syndication in the United States on stations such as New York’s WCBS.

The Muppets hit the big screen

The Muppet Show was a hit, amassing a global audience of over 200 million. It won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy for outstanding comedy-variety or music series — for which it beat Saturday Night Live — in 1978.

While his TV show was on the air, Henson worked on the franchise’s first film, The Muppet Movie. The road film, released in 1979, was another hit: it earned more than US$76 million at the box office.

The Muppet Movie garnered two Academy Award nominations for its music, including best song for ‘Rainbow Connection.’ It won a Grammy for best album for children.

The next two films, The Great Muppet Caper, which premiered in 1981, and The Muppets Take Manhattan, released in 1984, also garnered Oscar nominations for their music.

Fraggle Rock and the Disney deal

The cast of The Muppet Show and the three films took a break from Hollywood while Henson focused on Fraggle Rock, a TV show for kids that aired from 1983-87 on HBO.

Like Henson’s other productions, Fraggle Rock featured absurdist humour — but its puppets aren’t considered part of the standard Muppets gang. This co-production between Henson, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and British producers was aimed at international markets.

The quickly conglomerating media industry led Henson to consider corporate partnerships to assist with his goal of further expanding the Muppet media universe.

In August 1989, he negotiated a deal with Michael Eisner of Disney, who announced at Disney-MGM Studios an agreement in principle to acquire The Muppets, with Henson maintaining ownership of the Sesame Street characters. The announcement also included plans to open Muppet-themed attractions at Disney parks. But less than a year later, on May 16, 1990, Henson died from a rare and serious bacterial infection. He was 53.

Of Muppets and mergers

Henson’s death led to the Disney deal’s collapse. But the company did license The Muppets to Disney, which co-produced The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992 and Muppet Treasure Island in 1996 with Jim Henson Productions, which was then run by Jim’s son, Brian Henson.

In 2000, the Henson family sold the Muppet properties to German media company EM.TV & Merchandising AG for $680 million. That company ran into financial trouble soon after, then sold the Sesame Street characters to Sesame Workshop for $180 million in late 2000. The Jim Henson Company bought back the remaining Muppet properties for $84 million in 2003.

In 2004, Disney finally acquired The Muppets and most of the media library associated with the characters. Disney continued to produce Muppet content, including The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz in 2005. Its biggest success came with the 2011 film The Muppets, which earned over $165 million at the box office and won the Oscar for best original song Man or Muppet.

Muppets Most Wanted, released in 2014, earned another $80 million worldwide, bringing total global box office receipts to over $458 million across eight theatrical Muppets movies.

The Muppet Show goes on

The Muppets continue to exp­and their fandom across generations and genres by performing at live concerts and appearing in several series and films.

Through these many hits and occasional bombs, and the Jim Henson Company’s personnel changes, the Muppets have adapted to changes in technology and tastes, making it possible for them to remain relevant to new generations.

That cast of characters made of felt and foam continues to entertain fans of all ages. Although many people remain nostalgic over The Muppet Show, two prior efforts to reboot the show proved short-lived.

As Disney aired its The Muppet Show anniversary special on February 4, 2026, perhaps more people will get hooked as Disney looks to reboot the series.

The writer is Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US

Republished from The Conversation

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 8th, 2026

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THE WEEK THAT WAS

Kafeel | ARY, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

After more than 20 years of marriage and four children, Zeba (Sanam Saeed) finally admits the mira­cle that she once hoped for is impossible — her terrible husband Jami (Eemad Irfani) will not change.

For years, Zeba has lived in a psychological prison, putting up with years of Jami’s womanising, theft, deceit and even physical threats to their family — all in the name of respectability. An educated, compassionate and strong woman, Zeba fears no one will marry her daughters if she divorces Jami. When a divorced friend encourages Zeba to seek freedom, Zeba immediately brings up her worries about her three unmarried daughters and unconsciously places the burden of her own life choices on them.

Writer Umera Ahmed highlights how spouses, especially women, relinquish agency and power, even when they are the ones actually fulfilling both partners’ responsibilities. Director Meesam Naqvi contrasts the frustrating narrative of Zeba’s past decisions with a more hopeful future, where positive change is possible. The drama reminds audiences that living with dysfunction places a heavy psychological burden on the children that Zeba is trying desperately to protect. Strong performances from the young cast, led by Aashir Wajahat (Subuk), make this show more relatable and entertaining rather than a portrayal of helpless pain and suffering.

Muamma | Hum TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

Director Shaqielle Khan brings a touch of theatrical mystery to Muamma, reminiscent of the heydays of British television, where every situation was meticulously crafted, and a new twist unfolded each week.

Jehan Ara (Saba Qamar) may have suffered intense abuse and disappointment that have twisted her personality, but she is not portrayed as a victim. Still a prisoner of her past, we glimpse her vulnerability. Yet, her need to control, dominate and manipulate drives her behaviour out of choice.

Ali Ansari impresses as the two-faced Junaid, a protective, loving husband to Myra (Anoushay Abbasi), while secretly proposing to Jehan Ara. A beautiful, alluring woman like Jehan Ara is unimpressed — she is intelligent enough to understand that her money and perceived influence are the primary attractions that draw others to her. While Jehan Ara peeks into the lives of her tenants, author Imran Nazir gives us a window into cultural dysfunction. Saba Qamar delivers a subtle yet powerhouse performance that has captured the audience’s attention..

Faaslay | Green Entertainment, Fri-Sun 8.00pm

Green Entertainment’s plan to diversify its content, rather than focusing on the intense, out-of-the-box stories it first became known for, seems to be working.

True to its genre, after years of fighting, the main protagonists end up married.

Zaviyar (Ali Ansari) exposes Ainey’s (Saboor Aly) conniving fiancé as a liar and a cheat on their wedding day. While he steps in to take the groom’s place, Ainey’s heart brims with resentment at being humiliated and possibly even manipulated in public. So, the fight continues until these two let go of their egos and past wounds and surrender to a love that truly knows how to forgive.

A young supporting cast and multiple storylines make this an intriguing drama but, ultimately, it’s the structured script and characterisations that make it so watchable. Many of the storylines require leaps of imagination, but the drama’s light tone and the cast’s chemistry make us feel that they are a group of friends we all know. This is entertainment that is enjoyable with no pressure to think too much.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Sara Aapi | Geo TV, Coming soon

A new story of familial loy­alty and betrayal. Sara Aapi (Sa­­vera Nadeem) has sacrificed much for her family, but is her role as matriarch suffocating and stunting the lives of those she claims to love?

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 8th, 2026

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If politicians took Karachi even 1/1000th as seriously as they take Tabish Hashmi’s jokes, they wouldn’t be dodging the real issues he was pointing out.”

“Fashion critique makes sense on runways, campaigns, red carpets. But I’ve seen too many brides turned into review material on their wedding day, and I genuinely don’t understand the point.”

“MashaAllah! Seeing the weddings of the president and prime minister’s families makes one realise how wealthy our country truly is. Perhaps people complain about poverty unnecessarily.”

“I have a gut feeling that this cosmetic trend is going to vanish soon. It seems short-lived. These are unnatural things. Imperfections define our personality.”

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 8th, 2026

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