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Smithsonian Magazine ·Smart escape

Kermit the Frog Was Just Trying to Put on a Variety Show. Fifty Years Later, the Muppets Are Some of the Biggest Stars in Television History

Published 2026-09-04 19:21:00+00:00

How did a chaotic variety show give its audience permission to be weird?

0:00 / 23:07 · Narrator Vindemiatrix

Context

When Jim Henson pitched a prime-time puppet show for adults fifty years ago, network executives didn't quite know what to make of it. This 4 September 2026 feature from Smithsonian Magazine looks past the show's eventual massive success to focus on the people operating the puppets. It reveals how performers used scraps of felt and foam to work through their own very human insecurities on screen. The story captures how a chaotic, makeshift production became a cultural fixture simply by giving a cast of weirdos permission to be exactly who they were.

Show notes

A history of how Jim Henson pitched and built a prime-time variety show around a cast of chaotic puppets. Drawing on interviews with original performers and museum curators, it tracks how characters like Kermit and Gonzo developed their distinct personalities over years of television production. The account details the mechanics of the puppetry, the working culture on set, and the modern challenges of preserving the aging foam figures.

Read on Smithsonian Magazine →