The Muppets's lack of success on TV after The Muppet Show.

[CastletonSnob]

I’ve been getting into The Muppets lately, and I just realized that none of the shows after The Muppet Show were nearly as successful, with the exception of Muppet Babies.

Why haven’t the post-Muppet Show shows been as successful? Is it because the Muppets are a product of their time? Kids today probably have no idea what a variety show even is, which is what the Muppet Show was making fun of. And yes, I know the Muppets were originally intended for general audiences, like Looney Tunes, but also like Looney Tunes, they’re now marketed toward kids.

[Skizzit]

Probably a combination of variety shows falling out of favor and the death of Jim Henson.

[Kyphael]

The Muppet Babies cartoon is the only version of Muppets I ever enjoyed as a kid. They were The Rugrats before The Rugrats were cool. I could never enjoy the actual Muppet shows or movies with the real Muppets. Even as a kid they came off a little lame to me. Growing up in the 90's I was exposed to very edgy TV, though.

[jellmoo]

My wife and I had a talk about this while watching their terrible Disney + show.

I think the problem is that the Muppets are wrapped up in their celebrity now (well, not the Muppets themselves, but rather the product). They are portrayed as pop culture icons, aware of their celebrity status.

In the original show, they were a simple theater troupe putting on a show. They sucked at it. They failed. They weren't shown as "muppets". Kermit was a frog. Piggy was a pig. Fozzy was a bear. We got to see them deal with backstage drama, celebrity guests that were baffled as to why they were there, and a show that was barely strung together. Kermit, was largely an asshole. He was bossy, manipulative and determined to make the show work. Piggy was a diva who thought she was a celebrity but wasn't/ Fozzy was a terrible comedian. The jokes were meta, the acts were occasionally strange and bizarre, and the ongoing bits were actually amusing.

The Muppets don't work on TV anymore because they are spending way too much time trying to modernize the product, instead of trying to work them as nostalgia, or look at what actually made them a good act to begin with. The audience doesn't want to watch a shopw about Scooter trying to upload video files (ask 100 people who their favourite Muppet is and see how many say Scooter). They don't want a Muppet talk show. They want a product that only the Muppets can give.

[Orby]

the Muppets have been my source of entertainment and inspiration growing up, The original Muppet Show still makes me laugh and just about holds up to this day. I love the dry humour and the silly slapstick nature of it all. Gonzo is just the muppet version of me.

It is very sad to see the Muppets kind of fall in popularity over the years. They did pretty well with that recent Muppet Movie that came out in 2011, that got the Muppets back in the limelight again but they failed to really capitalize on it.

@jellmoo probably sums it up really well above. I do kind of feel its a lack of understanding what the muppets were really about as well as trying to fit in that new generation for todays families.

I love the muppets and do hope they continue, I dont want them rotting in some warehouse somewhere :P