The Muppets Mayhem
“It’s time to play the music and it’s time to light the lights” with The Muppets Mayhem, which focuses on The Muppets Show’s house band, The Electric Mayhem (played by themselves). In this series, junior A&R executive Nora (Lilly Singh) discovers that the band owes her record label an album, and takes on the task of recording it in the hopes of breathing new life into the company and jump-starting her career in music. However, getting the chaotic band to focus long enough to actually make the album is easier said than done, and Nora will need the help of Electric Mayhem groupie Moog (Tahj Mowry) and her influencer sister, Hannah (Saara Chaudry), to bring the Muppet musicians into the 21st century.
It’s a fairly standard movie-about-a-band plot, but the extra dash of Muppety mania does a lot to make this series feel fresh and compelling. The Electric Mayhem members are consummate performers, able to bring a steady supply of solid gags alongside healthy servings of sincere and tender emotional moments, and the non-Muppet cast does a great job of being more grounded foils to their costars, while also keeping room for silly and comedic moments of their own. The love triangle subplot between Nora, Moog and app developer JJ (Anders Holm) is perhaps a little stale, but it thankfully doesn’t detract from the overall experience.
In true Muppets fashion, there are also numerous celebrity cameos, which are kept short and sweet to give the show that superstar quality without drowning it in references. All the celebrities involved are also clearly having the time of their lives, adding to the overall good vibes.
Nothing about The Muppets could ever be described as being understated, but The Muppets Mayhem is very careful to balance its titular mayhem with genuine pathos, giving the comedy space to breathe and ensuring the gags don’t become overwhelming or overstay their welcome. The series also makes sure to give every character in its ensemble cast equal time in the spotlight over the course of its ten episodes, which allows each entry to have a distinct narrative identity and ensures they remain engaging throughout.
Overall, The Muppets Mayhem is a fantastic slice of Muppet fun, bringing that classic mix of wild antics and tear-jerking emotions that the team are known and loved for. It’s sensational, inspirational, celebrational and, most importantly, muppetational.
Umar Ali
The Muppets Mayhem is released on Disney+ on 10th May 2023.
Watch the trailer for The Muppets Mayhem here:
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