Series / The Muppets Mayhem

Can you picture that?

The Muppets Mayhem is a 2023 musical comedy series featuring The Muppets, specifically the Muppets' house band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The series was created by Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz), Jeff Yorks, and Muppet performer Bill Barretta. Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry, Anders Holm, and Saara Chaudry make up the human side of the cast.

The ten-episode first season of the series follows the band as they set out to record their first platinum album, coming face to face with the modern music industry in the process. The series premiered on Disney+ May 10, 2023. Goldberg has gone on record stating his hopes to use the show to launch a Muppets Shared Universe to rival that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars universe. Following the announcement that the series was canceled after one season, Goldberg tweeted that he, Barretta, and York were indeed working on new projects in the “Muppet-verse”.

Previews: Teaser, Trailer

---

Provides examples of:

• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Dr. Teeth calls Nora "Label Lady", and eventually starts shortening it to "Labels". Lips calls her "Nobu". Subverted with Moog and JJ — Moog starts calling her "Thunderdome" but stops when she makes clear she doesn't like it. JJ calls her "Smooshy" no matter how much she tells him not to.
  • Dr. Teeth lovingly refers to Penny as "Twinkles".
• Accidental Misnaming: Due to his hazy memory, Zoot rarely gets anybody's name correct (like calling Nora "Dorothy," Moog "Gorp," or Morgan Freeman "Marvin").
• Actor Allusion: In "Track 8: Virtual Insanity", Moog tells Penny about the threat of the other music fandoms, and she asks "who's the Smart Guy?"
• Adaptational Nice Guy: In the past, Animal was known for literally chasing women against their wishes. In this series, while he still obsesses over Nora, he's the only Muppet who won't enter her house before she gives him permission.
• Ascended Extra:
  • While they are hardly extras, the prominence of the Electric Mayhem in the trailer and their name being in the title hits home how this is their show this time around.
  • Lips, long a Living Prop detachable from the band, is given more screen time and characterization as The Unintelligible wise man of the group with a surprising amount of personal connections to various celebrities.
• Ascended Fanboy: Moog starts out as the Mayhem's biggest fan and a source of knowledge about them. Once Nora finally listens to his demo recodings he's given the job of producing the band's first album.
• Been There, Shaped History:
  • Penny was a major part of the music industry during some fairly big projects back in the day.
  • According to The Music Lowdown in episode 1, the Electric Mayhem taught Mötley Crüe how to party and served as the inspiration for a number of other famous musicians.
  • In episode 7, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles states that Lips inspired the song "Walk Like an Egyptian" and Paula Abdul says he introduced her to MC Skat Kat.
• Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: Satan's Blowout, a sauce and chip flavor enjoyed by Penny Waxman. Dr. Teeth tries it, but doesn't have the tolerance his girlfriend does and it turns his body into a "blazing chip-induced hellscape of [his] own making".
• Brick Joke: In The Muppet Movie, Zoot's defining trait is his abysmal memory. In this series, he's turned into somewhat of a Camera Fiend instead, with his memory issues downplayed. It turns out him taking pictures is his coping mechanism for said memory issues, and allows them to find out where he put the money for their recording contract, since he took pictures of himself hiding it!
• Broad Strokes: According to the retrospective in episode 1, the Electric Mayhem was the house band on The Muppet Show and has been touring ever since, with their roles in other Muppet productions being glossed over.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: The members of The Electric Mayhem are all scatterbrained and disorganized to varying degrees, and Nora often finds it difficult to get them to knuckle down and actually work on their album. However, it's also proven time and time again that they're very talented musicians and there's a good reason they've become so beloved over the years.
• The Cameo: As is typical with Muppet productions, the series features cameos from various celebrities with Paula Abdul, Cheech & Chong, and "Weird Al" Yankovic among those shown off in the trailer.
  • Statler and Waldorf attend the Electric Mayhem's concert at the Hollywood Bowl in the final episode, making them the only other pre-existing Muppets to appear in the series.
• Chekhov's Gag: In the first episode, the money Penny gave the Mayhem for the album they never made is mainly treated as a joke, with the reveal that Zoot was the one to cash the check explaining how it was lost and why the album never happened. Come the season finale and it turns out it was stashed on their old bus all this time and it gives them the funds they need to go on tour. And in a double whammy, Zoot's shutterbuggery, which has been a constant running gag throughout the whole season, is what ultimately leads them to it, as he took pictures of himself putting the money on the bus and stuck them to the ceiling.
• Company Cross References: During Floyd's hallucination in "Break on Through", he sees "Weird Al" Yankovic appear in a cloud formation and asks if Al's going to tell him to reclaim the Pride Lands.
• Couch Gag: From episode 2 onwards, each episode opens with the antics of the band while driving through LA in their van.
• Cult: Over the course of two episodes, the Forsureleans somehow develop from fans of Janice's yoga Insta to a hippie commune that calls her "the Earth Mother". Possibly an Apocalypse Cult since Janice assures Nona, in her usual mellow way, that she will be spared "The Reckoning".
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Teeth's parents visit, his mother is polite and jovial toward everybody, except for Floyd who she gives a passive-aggressive "Floyd" as her only greeting. Flashbacks reveal she forbade her son from talking to the man and resents him for steering him away from his "potential". Disapproval of career choices, or of relationship choices?
• Doorstep Baby: "Exile on Mainstreet" reveals that Animal was left on Floyd's doorstep as a baby in a cage rather than the usual basket. Floyd still has the note attached to him which just said "KEEP".
• Dude Magnet: Nora's ex-boyfriend JJ still has feelings for her and Moog and Animal both develop crushes on her.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Nora is introduced singing along to "Rock and Roll All Nite", but insisting that the lyrics are "and part of every day", citing both the fact that partying 24 hours would be impossible and that her own position at a record company exec means that she knows these things (while getting Penny her coffee). This establishes that she's enthusiastic about music, doesn't know as much about it as she thinks she does, and is both rather straightlaced and prone to exaggerating her position at Wax Town.
  • After JJ shows off his smug, condescending attitude about his app, his acquisition of Wax Town Records, and his former status as the office "bagel boy", he briefly drops it to very sincerely whisper "I love you" to Nora, only to immediately backpedal when she doesn't hear him correctly. This shows that Beneath the Mask of his obnoxious "tech-bro" persona, JJ is a decent but deeply insecure man trying to win back the affection of his ex-girlfriend but doing it in the worst possible way, and destined to fail because of his inability to communicate properly with her.
• Funny Background Event: While the band has a serious discussion during their rockumentary, Animal is in the background struggling with his multiplying bunnies.
• Hated Item Makeover: When the Electric Mayhem arrives at the shack they think they'll be staying at, they redecorate it to their liking — however, it actually turns out to be Danny Trejo's house, which is across the street from the shack they are actually staying at, and he appears rather upset about it. Subverted later in the episode, where Trejo happily points out that the Electric Mayhem painted his house, indicating that he grew to like the change.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episodes are called "tracks" and are all Titled After the Song.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy:
  • Animal seems to have a crush on Nora, pining after her and giving her gifts; but after a marshmallow-induced conversation with an eloquent version of his younger self where he realizes he's drawn to her over them having both being misfits of sorts, his goal is clearly to protect and help her over any sort of romance, and he actively tries to pair her with Moog because he thinks they'd be good for one another.
  • JJ likewise backs down in the final episode, deciding they're better as friends.
• Jerkass Ball: While otherwise a nice guy, Moog tries to sabotage Nora and JJ as a couple by manipulating the band into arguing. To be fair, he's egged on by Hannah, but he still makes the choice.
• Medium-Shift Gag:
  • In Episode 5, Dr. Teeth has a stop-motion hallucination brought on by eating expired marshmallows.
  • In Episode 8, the band holds a virtual concert in Minecraft, rendered in the game's art style.
• Mondegreen Gag: Nora is convinced that the lyrics to "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS say "And part of every day" instead of "and party every day" despite repeatedly being told that she's wrong. The band eventually decide to settle it by having Lips, who has a photographic memory for lyrics, sing the line... but his mumbling makes it completely unintelligeble.
• Mushroom Samba: While camping in "Break On Through" the band (except Zoot who doesn't eat sugar) and Nora eat some marshmallows that expired back in the 1990s that cause them to hallucinate. Zoot gets photographic evidence of all of it, with only Nora seeming to have actually hallucinated anything.
• Mythology Gag:
  • A label on Floyd's guitar in the teaser reads "Mr. Bassman", referencing a song Floyd and Scooter performed on The Muppet Show.
  • In the second episode, Animal offers Nora the Baseball Diamond as a gift.
  • The band drives past a Pizza Twins restaurant.
  • The first episode is titled "Can You Picture That?", referring to the band's song from The Muppet Movie. The song is even performed in the episode with the same opening shot of Teeth pouring paint onto the camera.
    • Another reference to the same song is on a sticker on the back of Moog's van: "You are too close if you can picture this".
  • Zoot has a photo of the time they took Manhattan.
  • The Swinetrek from "Pigs In Space" can be seen during Lips' space hallucination in "Break On Through".
  • Lips' ringtone is the melody from "Mahna-mahna".
  • According to Floyd, the band has had a beef with a band from River Bottom.
  • When Nora arrives at the impromptu party in the first episode the band are wrapping up a performance of "Jungle Boogie". The audio is from a video made to promote The Muppets (2015) (the version used in this show removes Sam the Eagle's vocals).
  • Cheech & Chong call Zoot Dave, after his performer Dave Goelz, as well as one of the duo's most famous gags.
  • The Standard Famous Rock Star Contract is a reference to the Standard Rich and Famous Contract from The Muppet Movie. The date on the contract (January 7, 1975) is the date when the first edit of the The Muppet Show's pilot Sex and Violence was finished, in which The Electric Mayhem made their debut.
  • A billboard for Doc Hopper's Frog Legs can be seen at one point.
  • In episode 4, Zoot mistakes an argument for a television show and remarks, "This is a narrative of very heavy duty proportions!" (a quote from Dr. Teeth from The Muppet Movie.)
  • Floyd refers to Dr. Teeth as "fearless leader" several times. "Fearless Leader" was the title of a poem about Jim Henson, written by Floyd's original performer Jerry Nelson, which he recited in character at Jim Henson's memorial service. Similarly, the music shop Floyd once worked at as shown in Episode 6 is called Jerry's Tunes, in tribute to Jerry Nelson.
  • In "Break On Through" the Mayhem say they wrote "Can You Picture That?" while camping out in the desert, which is probably a reference to the scene in The Muppet Movie where Kermit's gang meet them in the desert and they all sit round a campfire, just like the band, Nora and Moog do here (although they actually performed the song before the desert scenes).
  • In the lyric video for "I Believe in Us", one of the tour posters says they're performing at the Dubonnet Club, London. The dates given are Fri 26 June and Sat 30 July 1981; the US and UK release dates of the movie.
  • In the final scene of episode 6, a box of Cröonchy Stars cereal (a licensed product from 1988 which featured The Swedish Chef on the package) is on the table.
  • In episode 10, Zoot's gallery opening is held at the Mallory Gallery.
• Never Heard That One Before: Floyd says that "Weird Al" Yankovic only writes parody songs, and Al instantly retorts that half of the songs on every one of his albums are original, an exchange of dialogue which, in real life, Al and his fans experience on a regular basis.
• New Media Are Evil: Zigzagged. While social media is consistently shown as shallow and pointless, and a phone-fueled Internet lifestyle as influencers nearly breaks up the Mayhem, the cast does ultimately use their newfound social media clout for good, first by spreading good vibes in classic Electric Mayhem fashion during a digital concert, then mobilizing their fanbases to reclaim the Hollywood Bowl concert.
• New Old Flame: Penny, the CEO of Wax Town Records, was romantically involved with Dr. Teeth in the past which is why she's not happy about Nora's plan for the band. However, it doesn't take long for the two's old flame to be rekindled again.
• Older Than They Look: This has been vaguely implied about the Muppet cast since the 2011 reboot, but is fully on display here; the Electric Mayhem are said to have been on tour since 1972, years before they even debuted in the test pilot of The Muppet Show, and clearly haven't aged a day in that time. Dr. Teeth's parents likewise don't seem old enough to have a son who's been a musician for 50 years — when one considers the timeline, they're intending to retire and leave their business to a son who is himself well past retirement age. The characters look younger when seen in flashbacks to the 1960s, but have apparently not changed a bit since '72. Preventing this from being too implausible is the fact that, out-of-universe, Zoot has been portrayed by Dave Goelz for that entire 50-year span.
• Or Was It a Dream?: In episode 5, everybody but Zoot and Moog trip out on expired marshmallows. Despite everything appearing as though they are hallucinations, Zoot can apparently see everything happening and capture photographic evidence.
• Outlandish Device Setting: The trailer shows a speaker capable of going to 11… .5.
• The Perfectionist: Floyd's main flaw as an artist is that he has such a high standard that it's impossible for him or the band to reach it, trapping them in stagnation.
• Promotion to Parent: After the death of their father, Nora dropped out of college to raise her younger sister Hannah.
• Sequel Non-Entity: The series is focused mainly on the Electric Mayhem band. As a result, other founding Muppets such as Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo are not present in the series. Statler and Waldorf do appear in the season finale, however.
• Shout-Out:
  • The Mayhem pull the Fabulous Baseball Diamond from The Great Muppet Caper out of random stuff in their tour van. Later on, Zoot's photo exhibition is being held at the Mallory Gallery, the art museum from the film.
  • At one point Teeth mentions squaring off against a band from River Bottom. Floyd remarks "Yeah, those guys were a real Nightmare!"
  • There is a nod to This is Spın̈al Tap in the trailer with an amp that goes up to 11… and a half.
  • In addition to referencing the Muppet Show song, the "Mr. Bassman" sticker on Floyd's guitar on the teaser is a reference to The Beatles; Paul McCartney has a similar sticker on his guitar that just says "Bassman" (apparently acquired from a Fender Bassman amplifier).
    • Episode 7 serves as a Whole-Plot Reference to The Beatles: Get Back as a documentary about the band is filmed. It even ends with that documentary's director, Peter Jackson appearing at the end. Additionally, the band takes a moment to recollect with Jackson about the night they "met the Feebles".
• Starting a New Life: In the few days he is gone, Animal works as a janitor, a receptionist, and finds out he is a hibachi prodigy and becomes a famous chef.
• The Stinger: Zoot attempting to take a picture leading to a different gag in each episode, similar to Gonzo and his trumpet in The Muppet Show.
• Stealth Pun: A Cold Open in episode 5 has the band trying to resist headbanging to a Metallica song, having already injured their necks headbanging earlier. Though only instrumental sections are heard on the soundtrack, the song in question is "Master of Puppets".
• Take That!:
  • In episode 2, after Nora admits to lying to the band, they lament the lack of honesty in the music industry, but take comfort in the fact that they "still have used-car salesmen and politicians".
  • Kevin Smith gets in some Self-Deprecation in episode 7, calling himself a "one-star director" and saying he is ready to embrace family-friendly entertainment after "a lifetime of making critically panned R-rated movies". The band also mentions "whatever Yoga Hosers was" when discussing the genres Smith has dabbled in.
  • Episode 8 fires several shots at many musician fandoms and their behavior on the internet, particularly the Swifties, Beliebers, Beyhive, and Little Monsters.
• Team Dad: Floyd is this to the band, especially Dr. Teeth and Animal. Flashbacks reveal that it was him who encouraged Teeth as a musician, and adopted Animal from his doorstep.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Penny loves spicy food. Her introduction starts with Nora getting her an iced Mexican mocha with cayenne caramel and four pumps of sriracha syrup. And when The Electric Mayhem temporarily break up, she and Dr. Teeth go on a world tour to try the hottest peppers.

---