Moving from The Muppets Show to the big time has always been the dream for The Electric Mayhem Band. “The Muppets Mayhem ” is a new show chronicling that journey coming to Disney+.
The cast of the musical comedy already features Lilly Singh (“A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” “Dollface”) and Tahj Mowry (“Smart Guy,” “Baby Daddy”). Today it was announced that Saara Chaudry (“The Mysterious Benedict Society,” “Holly Hobbie”) and Anders Holm (“Workaholics,” “Inventing Anna”) have joined the cast as Hannah and JJ in the highly anticipated live-action series.
Of course, The Electric Mayhem band members — Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet — are also along for the epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album.
About The Muppets Mayhem
The band is helped along by a driven young music executive, Nora Gibbs (Singh). With their talent and others to help along the way, the old-school Muppet band comes face to face with the current day music scene. Will they ever be able to ‘go platinum?’ We hope so!
In the show Chaudry will play series regular Hannah, Nora’s younger and arguably more accomplished sister. A social media native who believes “if it wasn’t posted, it didn’t happen,” Hannah translated her online acumen and talent for enthusiastic and aspirational make-up videos into a burgeoning social media empire, complete with a legion of “Fan-a-Hannahs.” Her success has unfortunately upended her dynamic with Nora.
The character of JJ will be played by Holm. This formerly sheepish, nerdy intern has developed into an uber-cool, tech entrepreneur who also is a former partner of Nora. The dynammic will be tense as JJ attempts to win back Nora while balancing his own career objectives.
The team behind “The Muppets Mayhem” includes Adam F. Goldberg (“The Goldbergs”), Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes. Baretta worked on the fan-loved “Muppets Haunted Mansion” special and is a long-time Muppet performer (Dr. Teeth, Pepe, Rowlf the Dog to name a few). So that’s a good sign.
Of course, the show is based on characters created by Jim Henson whose legacy is lovingly maintained by The Muppets Studio.
“We are so excited to bring the story of The Electric Mayhem Band to the front and center of this new series. They’ve been entertaining audiences since ‘The Muppet Show,’ which debuted 45 years ago, so it’s wonderful that these characters are finally getting to play lead rather than supporting roles,” said David Lightbody, executive producer and senior vice president of Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio.
We remain eternally hopeful that Disney will continue building on the beloved Muppets in ways that are true to their characters and legacy. For instance, if this show is a success, could we see The Electric Mayhem Band in a show at Walt Disney World? That would be fantastic.
No date has been announced for the debut of the series. Let us know if you’re excited, nervous, or both for The Muppets Mayhem.