The Muppets Studio
In 2006, the Muppets Holding Company was transferred from the Disney Consumer Products unit to The Walt Disney Studios; with studio executives passing on oversight, the unit was placed in the special events group.[9][10] That same year, Disney contracted Puppet Heap to rebuild, maintain, and create puppet characters for the Muppets Studio. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company changed its name to The Muppets Studio under new leadership by Special Events Group SVP Lylle Breier.[15]
In 2008, The Muppets Studio began a licensing agreement with F.A.O. Schwarz to create a Muppet-themed boutique where customers can design their own Muppet.[9] In 2013, Disney Theatrical Productions revealed that a show based on The Muppets was in active development and that a 15-minute show had been conducted by Thomas Schumacher to see how the technical components would work out.[20]
The company was transferred in 2015 to Disney's new media unit, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media, specifically DCPI Labs.[16][21] On April 3, 2015, a series of shorts named Muppet Moments premiered on Disney Junior. The series features conversations between the Muppets and young children.[22] By April, Bill Prady was commissioned to write a script for a new Muppets pilot with the title The Muppets,[8] which was greenlit by ABC, and ran for one season.
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media became part of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products in a March 2018 company reorganization.[23] That same month, a reboot of the 1980s Muppet Babies series debuted on Disney Junior.[24] A relaunch of the Muppets franchise was planned as of February 2018 for the then-unnamed Disney streaming service scheduled to be launched in 2019.[25][26] Soon two series were under development for the Disney+ streaming service, the unscripted short-form series Muppets Now, and the scripted comedy Muppets Live Another Day. Live Another Day was from Adam Horowitz, Eddy Kitsis, and Josh Gad, and was planned as an eight-episode series which would depict events taking place after The Muppets Take Manhattan.[27] The series was at ABC Signature Studios with a pilot order when Muppets Studios vice president Debbie McClellan departed and her replacement, Disney Parks Live Entertainment senior vice president David Lightbody, wanted a different take on the project.
In 2021 Muppets Haunted Mansion, an original special that debuted in October 2021 on Disney+.[29] The special would win Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design at the inaugural Children's & Family Emmy Awards in 2022.[30] According to The Wrap, multiple specials where planned with one centered around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but never went into production.[31]
In 2022, it was announced that ABC Signature and The Muppets Studio were developing a 10-episode series for Disney+ based on The Electric Mayhem, under the title The Muppets Mayhem, with Adam F. Goldberg, Jeff Yorkes and Muppet performer and writer Bill Barretta as showrunners and executive producers.[32] The series would debut May 10, 2023, on Disney+ but would be cancelled after one season in November 2023.[33] The series would win the Outstanding Children's or Family Viewing Series award at the Children's & Family Emmy Awards in 2024.
In September 2025, it was announced that The Muppets Studio, 20th Television and Point Grey Pictures were developing a new version of The Muppet Show with a special. The special will serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential revival/reboot of the original series. The special was directed by Alex Timberts with Albertina Rizzo as writer. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Muppet performers Matt Vogel and Eric Jacobson served as executive producers, alongside Sabrina Carpenter as a star and executive producer.[34][35] The special had its Disney+ and ABC premiere on February 4, 2026 with universal acclaim from fans and critics praising it's humor and for being so faithful to the original 70's series.[36][37][38]
In November 2025, it was announced that The Muppets Studio, Excellent Cadaver, Fruit Tree and Walt Disney Pictures were developing a Miss Piggy movie with Jennifer Lawrence & Emma Stone as executive producers and Cole Escola as writer.[39][40]
In December 2025, Leigh Slaughter mentioned that The Muppets will appear "a lot more" at Disney theme parks and onboard Disney cruise ships in "live appearances from the characters on land and sea," during an interview with Time magazine.[41]
In February 2026, The Wrap reported that The Walt Disney Company's new CEO Josh D'Amaro was looking into bringing "More Muppets material" into the parks and beyond.[42]
