# Muppets Tonight (1996)

> A late night style Muppet variety show where Kermit and the gang run a chaotic television studio with celebrity guests and sketches.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/6139

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 34
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy, family
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Kevin Clash, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Brian Henson, Bill Barretta, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Jerry Nelson
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115279/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: silly, breezy, warm, irreverent

## Synopsis

Muppets Tonight (1996-1999) is an American family sketch comedy series created by Jim Henson Productions and broadcast on ABC. It continues the spirit of The Muppet Show, moving the action from a theater to a television studio where a late night style program is always on the brink of chaos. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear anchor the anarchic broadcast, with puppeteers Kevin Clash, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz and Dave Goelz voicing and performing the characters. Each episode is built from sketches, musical numbers, parodies and celebrity guest appearances, while a running thread of backstage mishaps and rivalries gives the show a loose sense of continuity. The series runs three seasons and thirty four episodes of roughly half an hour each, presented as a three season sitcom-style variety format rather than a single continuing story. The tone is breezy, silly and warm, with a wink at television conventions and a sincere affection for its characters. Fans of The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and Late Night with Conan O'Brien will find resonance in its blend of puppet slapstick, self-aware showbiz humor and family appeal.

## Shows like Muppets Tonight

- [Animaniacs (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/72)
- [Big Comfy Couch (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/4204)
- [The Tracey Ullman Show (1987)](https://ember.film/tv/1579)
- [Fraggle Rock (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/2812)
- [The Muppets (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55814)
- [Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/13)
- [The Muppets Mayhem (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/121010)
- [The Jim Henson Hour (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/9525)
- [Saturday Night Live (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/1567)
- [Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/87004)

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