Tag: Entertainment – Variety

COL Group and CP Group are teaming on a partnership aimed at building up Thailand’s short-form drama business, linking creative training, local content production and distribution under a single initiative.

The deal centers on a talent incubation program the two firms will run jointly with an academic institution in Thailand, aimed at connecting new creative talent with the short-form entertainment sector. The companies said the effort is meant to widen the pipeline of talent feeding Thailand’s entertainment industry over time.

As part of the tie-up, the two companies will also work on what they’re calling a Thai Remake Collaboration, adapting select titles from COL Group’s and FlareFlow’s libraries specifically for Thai viewers. Rather than simple translation, the chosen stories will be reworked with Thai characters, settings and language, using AIGC-enabled production tools to support the localization process. COL Group is contributing its content library and short-form production know-how, while CP Group brings its local creator network and knowledge of the Thai market.

On the distribution side, FlareFlow will get a dedicated branded corner inside Tatang by TrueID, the short-form drama app run by True Corporation, part of CP Group. Called FlareFlow Mini, the corner is set to launch in September and will house FlareFlow’s vertical-drama catalogue for Thai audiences, with new titles added weekly.

“Building a sustainable short-form entertainment industry requires us to invest beyond content and into the next generation of Thai creative talent. We are pleased to partner with COL Group who shares this vision and brings deep global experience in the category. Together, we can connect education with real industry opportunities – from storytelling and production to AI-enabled creation and access to real world audiences – building stronger capabilities for Thai creators and a foundation for original Thai stories and IP to grow in Thailand and beyond,” said Patsakorn Laohrenu, director of business development of content & media group, CP Group.

“This partnership brings together the different pieces needed to grow short-form entertainment in a meaningful way, from developing the next generation of creators to localising proven stories for Thai audiences and creating new ways for those stories to reach viewers,” added Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group and CMO of FlareFlow. “By working with CP Group across talent, content and distribution, we hope to contribute to a stronger and more sustainable short-form entertainment ecosystem in Thailand.”

Tatang sits within a larger CP and True Group consumer network in Thailand that touches telecoms, e-payments, retail and marketing, and the partners plan joint promotional efforts to boost visibility for FlareFlow titles in the market.

For COL Group, the tie-up fits into a wider international growth push, pairing its content library and production know-how with a local partner that knows the market, has an established audience and brings its own creative infrastructure.

COL Group is known as an early mover in the microdrama space across the Chinese and U.S. markets. Its FlareFlow app, one of the leading vertical drama platforms worldwide, counts more than 45 million registered users.

CP Group is one of Thailand’s biggest conglomerates and ranks among Asia’s largest enterprise groups, with operations in 23 countries covering everything from agriculture and retail to telecoms, e-wallets, tech and media. The company has invested in China since 1979 and owns True Corporation, a leading Thai telecommunications and digital technology player.

GameSquare is rebranding its gaming and esports-focused livestreaming measurement platform Stream Hatchet into Hatchet, which it describes as “the first full-service creator matching and brand marketing analytics platform built for marketers looking to engage in youth culture with an emphasis on gaming.”

As part of the revamp, Hatchet, which counts Electronic Arts and NASCAR among its clients, will creator analytics including discovery, campaign tracking and ROI measurement. The rebranded platform will include an AI “Smart Search” and add in data from sources like TikTok Live, Twitter/X and Instagram along with its existing livestreaming network measurements, which are calculated based on 10 years of insights, more than 50 million creators and over 30 platforms.

Per GameSquare, changes coming to Hatchet include:
● End-to-End operation: Data and execution in one tool that allows users to find, verify, analyze, build, and report insights all together.
● Data set expansion: Hatchet can now pull from Twitch, YouTube, Kick, TikTok and over 30 platforms. Users can narrow search by audience overlap and chat sentiment with YouTube paid-vs-organic view identifications in the work, among other new descriptors.
● AI integration: For the first time, there is no manual configuration required. With “AI Smart Search,” users can evolve from a passive search platform into an active intelligence engine. This tool can also proactively surface the right creators at the right time.
● Creator Community: Manage your entire creator roster from one place. Brief, track, and coordinate campaigns end-to-end via a single, customizable hub with no manual tracking.

The new creator marketing analytics solution aims to help brands leverage the impact of gaming on youth culture.

“What we are doing with Hatchet is truly unique. This is not a generic tool being retrofitted to gaming. It is a full-service proposition backed by the entire GameSquare ecosystem,” GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna said. “The goal here is to help brands live and thrive at the center of a core aspect of youth culture — gaming. For comparison, we are building something that gives the same type of insights as the Nielsen ratings, but for content creators and using the highest standard that exists in the market, with more options than other platforms offer.”

“Over the years Hatchet has developed powerful tools and data sets to move the industry past reactive discovery,” Hatchet director of product Alessandra Pinto said. “Brands and publishers need an extension of their team, one that is continuously learning from performance patterns, surfacing opportunities, and tuning itself to their needs. Hatchet is our vision as that true strategic partner to help brands move from outreach to activation and manage the full campaign life cycle.”

See below for more from Variety’s Q&A with Pinto about revamping Hatchet.

What is driving the retooling and expansion for Hatchet?

The creator landscape has fundamentally changed. Creators now build audiences across multiple platforms and increasingly now include gaming as well as mainstream culture. It is critical for brands to understand a creator’s full ecosystem rather than evaluate individual channels in isolation … treating those platforms as interchangeable can mean missing important differences in audience behavior and influence.

Hatchet is expanding to give brands a more complete view of how creators, audiences and internet culture intersect, helping them identify which creators matter to specific audiences, on which platforms, and why.

Can you explain how AI is used on the platform and what purpose it serves?

We designed Hatchet’s AI around real challenges brands/marketers face. Smart Search allows users to describe the creator they are looking for in plain language and translates that intent into search criteria across more than 50 million creators and 30+ platforms, while the Daily Dashboard feature personalizes insights based on each user’s needs.

Ultimately, we see AI as a tool to help narrow enormous amounts of data into relevant insights that support better decisions. At the end of the day, the goal is not to replace human judgment but help people make better-informed choices for their campaigns.

French sales company MMM Film Sales has acquired the international rights to “Agata the Writer,” starring Mia Wasikowska, which will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Venice Days section, in competition.

The Australian film is directed by filmmaker and artist Kuba Dorabialski, and is produced by Alex White, best known for “Babyteeth.”

It follows Agata, a Polish-Australian novelist who travels from Sydney to Sarajevo to write a war novel. As she gathers material for her book, she is challenged by locals who question her motives and her relationship to the history she is attempting to portray.

As her creative uncertainty grows, a strange mystery unfolds when a series of provocative and obscene artworks inexplicably disappear. Through Agata’s journey, the film reveals that her novel is not about the war itself, but about the quiet, human moments of resilience that persist in its shadow, leading her to a deeper understanding of storytelling and the responsibilities that come with being a storyteller.

The MMM Film Sales team said, “We were immediately drawn to ‘Agata the Writer’ for its unique voice and its fascinating reflection on how we engage with history and memory. Mia Wasikowska perfectly embodies the role of Agata, a writer returning to her home continent, seeking to understand and reconnect with the wounds of the recent past, and with the ways in which unresolved conflicts continue to echo in the present. Kuba Dorabialski has crafted a film that is both playful and thought-provoking, questioning the relationship between storytelling, identity and responsibility.”

“Agata the Writer” is a Whitefalk Films and Produktion Productions film. Principal production funding came from Screen Australia. It is financed with support from Creative Australia and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.

“Babyteeth,” also produced by White, had its international premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, winning the Marcello Mastroianni Award. The film was nominated for 13 Australian Academy (AACTA) Awards winning nine, including best film, director and screenplay. In 2021 the film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for best director, won the Australian Directors Guild Award for best direction and as well as a British Independent Film Award nomination for best international film.

Dorabialski is an artist and filmmaker born in Wrocław, Poland, and currently based in Sydney, Australia. He has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally and won the John Fries Award (2017) and the Fisher Ghost Art Prize (2019). In 2021 he had his first major institutional solo exhibition at Carriageworks, a single channel long form video work Connection of the Sticks, which premiered in the FLUX: Art + Film program at the Sydney Film Festival in 2023. “Agata the Writer” is his debut feature film.

In her upcoming third feature “Brace Your Heart,” Amanda Kernell follows a survivor, not a victim. 

“We’re all different, and some people who experience really difficult things can’t recover. But there are others who survive and find there’s light on the other side,” she told Variety. 

Kernell, known for “Sámi Blood” and “Charter,” is also behind the script. 

In the story, Ejva inherits her father’s reindeer herd following his sudden death. She must grow up, quickly, with only the local leader Heaika eager to help. However, Heaika expects some things in return and isn’t happy to see Ejva fall for his cousin. 

The highly anticipated film is set to premiere at Toronto and San Sebastián. It debuts its exclusive trailer here:

In 2023, Kernell won the top award at the Co-Production Market at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films industry sidebar for the film, which was then known as “The Curse: A Love Story.” 

“After the curse of your own silence, or the curse that doesn’t allow you to speak up because you’re afraid of how people will think of you if you confront them,” she explained. 

“Then I realized: OK. I’m more interested in liberation than a curse.”

Sold by TrustNordisk, it’s produced by Eva Åkergren for Nordisk Film Production, and co-produced by Forest People, Compass Films, Invictus, Nordisk Film Production Denmark, Filmpool Nord, SVT and Film i Väst.

Elli Sara Valkeapää plays Ejva. She’s joined by Andte Gaup-Juuso and Vincent Niia.

“During casting, [Elli Sara Valkeapää] had just turned 18. I was like: ‘This is her. This is the girl I’ve written about.’ But that meant I had to change the whole film, because she speaks another Sámi language than I do,” explained Kernell. 

“I have a Sámi father and a Swedish mother, and I grew up in a village outside of Umeå. There are many strong, tough women there. As a child, I admired them, and I also feared them a little bit,” she said. 

“It seemed like they could survive anything, and maybe they had to. In this community, you have a responsibility greater than yourself.”

Just like Ejva, who suddenly needs to learn how to protect the herd and make her family proud, even when a violent attack leaves her struggling.

“This line from the title… It’s something you say to young Sámi people who are reindeer herders. You need to make your heart harder in order to survive,” she said. 

“Maybe that’s how you get through difficult things and traumas and death – and a life that’s very close to death. But it’s not the path to love.” 

Copenhagen-based sales and aggregation outlet LevelK has boarded the Norwegian psycho-thriller “Anathema” by promising directing duo Ea Johanne Sandberg and Alpha Nord.

One of 21 projects in development to be pitched today at the Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, “Anathema” is being shepherded by the seasoned Janne Hjeltnes (Netflix’s “Royalteen,” “Midsummer Night”) and Anne Borgaard Sørensen (“Camino”, “Bullshit”), also credited respectively as producer and executive producer of the Venice-bound “No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman.”

Penned by Sandberg and Nord, “Anathema” is billed as a “visceral, unsettling exploration of repression, denial and collective madness.” The central character Dafne, lives in a valley with her mother and Bror. When he vanishes, she begins to question if she or her community is falling apart. His eventual return, drowned and dead, pushes the town into full‑scale delusion: no one admits his zombie-like state and everyone insists on celebrating his wedding, even if it means sacrificing his fiancée.

“Dafne combines the truth-telling clarity of the boy in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” with the reluctant awakening of Neo in “The Matrix,” said the co-directors whose graduation short “Liminal Space” was selected for the New York City Independent Film Festival in 2025.

“What excited us about the project was the fresh take on a known genre and the guts of the two young female directors to approach taboo subjects in an unconventional manner and thereby mark their debut with a clear ‘what the f***’ film which will have people do a double take,” commented Natascha Degnova, LevelK’s head of PR and marketing. She added: “This is the kind of project that fits very well into our strategy of including more genre titles to our slate, as well as of getting involved in projects before production, having a full journey and collaboration with the filmmakers from script to worldwide release.”

“Anathema” is also the first feature under Hjeltnes and Sørensen’s banner Empathitude Pictures, set up in 2025 between Oslo and Copenhagen. “It’s exactly the kind of film we want to champion: character-driven, boundary-pushing and emotionally resonant, with a strong creative vision at its core,” said the producers, adding: “What makes the project particularly exciting to us is that it represents an extraordinary Gen Z approach to storytelling and filmmaking: instinctive, genre-fluid and unafraid of breaking with convention. It is the kind of filmmaking that does not simply work within an existing cinematic language but actively pushes it forward and expands what contemporary cinema can be.”

The project’s film financing is being structured so far as a three-way co-production between Empathitude Pictures in Norway and Denmark and Junafilm in Germany, with funding from the Norwegian Film Institute. “It’s a low budget film [around $1.7 million] but it needs the right partners as we want those trailblazing Gen Z filmmakers to fulfil their vision,” the former Viaplay and The Global Ensemble Drama top executive Sørensen told Variety.

At the Norwegian Film Festival’s industry sidebar New Nordic Films, currently underway, the Empathitude Pictures co-heads are looking for further co-financiers and distributors for “Anathema” and for their overall film and series slate.

“With Anne, since launching Empathitude Pictures, we’ve been working relentlessly on our development slate, which was awarded Creative Media support this summer, so it feels like we have taken some good choices. Starting a new company these days is not easy, but we’re optimistic,” offered Hjeltnes who’s also thrilled to attend the Venice Film Festival with the world premiere – out of competition – of Halkawt Mustafa’s “No Paradise if You Are Killed by a Woman,” produced by Hene Films.  

“I have been a producer alongside Halkawt for a decade, having produced as well his previous film “Hiding Saddam Hussein” [an IDFA world premiere in 2023]. “This is a dream come true,” she said.
New Nordic Films closes Aug. 27 and the Norwegian Intl. Film Festival in Haugesund on Aug. 28. 

Indonesian streaming platform Vidio has partnered with ReelShort, the microdrama platform owned by Crazy Maple Studio, marking ReelShort’s first entry into the Indonesian market.

Hundreds of ReelShort titles will become available on Vidio starting Sept. 1.

The content will stream through a dedicated Short Drama tab, accessible to subscribers on Vidio’s TV Extra, Platinum, Platinum Extra and Ultimate packages. The catalog spans genres such as fantasy, family drama, romance and billionaire romance, told in episodes running 60-90 seconds. More than 200 titles will launch with Indonesian dubbing, with a wider slate available in Indonesian subtitles.

Beyond distribution, the deal includes a co-production slate between ReelShort and Indonesian production houses, with resulting series set to appear on both platforms. The partnership is also framed as a skills exchange, giving Indonesian creative talent exposure to ReelShort’s production pipeline. The agreement was brokered by AR Global Media Network.

The Vidio tie-up extends ReelShort’s Southeast Asian expansion after earlier partnerships in Thailand with AIS and in the Philippines with Globe. According to Media Partners Asia (MPA), ReelShort holds an estimated 29% share of global short-form drama revenue.

Vidio’s Short Drama section has existed on the platform since last year. Vidio closed the second quarter of 2026 with 5.8 million paying subscribers in Southeast Asia, the third-largest total in the region. MPA data cited identifies Indonesia as Asia-Pacific’s biggest market for short-form drama viewership, representing 39% of the region’s audience, while mobile ad company Mintegral has recorded quarterly growth of 50%-200% for short-form drama apps since the third quarter of 2023.

“Vidio continues to evolve alongside the changing ways Indonesians consume entertainment,” said Sutanto Hartono, CEO of Vidio. “As audiences increasingly look for content that fits seamlessly into their daily lives, we want to ensure they can find every type of entertainment they love on a single platform, from live sports, local originals, global entertainment to now, the rapidly growing format of short dramas. Our partnership with ReelShort not only responds to this emerging audience demand but also strengthens Vidio’s position as Indonesia’s most comprehensive entertainment platform, offering more choice, greater convenience, and an even richer viewing experience for our subscribers.”

Crazy Maple Studio founder and CEO Joey Jia called the deal a milestone for the company’s regional strategy, saying it reflects a shift in how audiences consume entertainment as microdramas move toward the mainstream. “Indonesia is one of the region’s most dynamic entertainment markets,” Jia said. “We see tremendous potential not only to expand access to our global catalogue, but also to create original stories for Indonesian audiences. Through our planned local productions with Vidio and Indonesian production partners, we look forward to combining ReelShort’s global experience in developing high-performing short-drama IP with local creative talent to build stories and franchises that resonate locally while reaching audiences across the region and beyond.”

Vidio’s move builds on its existing lead in Indonesia’s subscription video market. Per the MPA and AMPD Online Video Consumer Insights: Southeast Asia Q2 2026 report, Vidio holds the largest share of Indonesia’s SVOD subscriptions, at 20.7%.

MPA CEO and executive director Vivek Couto pointed to that scale as central to Vidio’s standing in a crowded field. “Indonesia is one of the most competitive streaming markets in Southeast Asia, with strong demand for both local and international content,” Couto said. “Vidio’s position as the platform with the largest share of SVOD subscriptions in Indonesia, at 20.7%, reflects its ability to build scale through a deep understanding of the local market, supported by strong local content and engagement across categories. This position also highlights the increasingly important role of local platforms in shaping the streaming landscape across Southeast Asia.”

Thousands of ReelShort episodes will be accessible on Vidio’s Short Drama tab starting Sept. 1.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Wire that she is suing California for leading the charge in the lawsuit against the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger.

“California is once again trying to be the country’s regulator. And once again California is defying common sense to raise costs around the country,” Bird wrote. “That makes this a dispute between states, and the Constitution says those can only be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

It’s unclear if Bird has filed any paperwork for her lawsuit or if there’s any legal authority that the state of Iowa could invoke. However, the threat of taking California to the Supreme Court may be enough to bring the state’s AG Rob Bonta back to the bargaining table.

Bird argues that “any Iowa family” would tell you the cost of streaming is too high and that there are “fewer quality shows” to choose from. She says these are symptoms of one company getting “too far in front,” and the competitors being “too small to catch up.”

A merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., she writes, would remedy this.

“Netflix dominates the market for streaming,” Bird wrote. “Paramount+ and HBO Max together are smaller than Netflix, smaller than Disney, and smaller than Amazon. The merger could create a company to compete: an estimated $6 billion in savings to reinvest, and a public commitment to release at least 30 movies in theaters every year. More movies mean more entertainment — and more competition means lower prices.”

She called Paramount’s promise to release 30 theatrical films a year a “big deal,” adding, “That means more real choice for the family deciding which subscription to keep and which to cancel; more entertainment for small-town theaters to put on the marquee; and even more work for the crews who build sets and run cameras. Iowans do not need an economist to explain that.”

In addition to hurting consumers, Bird asserts that the uncertainty, along with Paramount’s $7 million ticking fee, will pull down an industry that’s just starting to get back on its feet.

“Two storied American companies are frozen,” she added. “Warner Bros. cannot confidently green-light a film, upgrade its technology, or sign a long-term contract without knowing whether it will exist as an independent company next year. Paramount cannot execute its plans without a merger either. Employees cannot plan careers. And a movie that does not get made this year may never get made at all. Financing expires, talent moves on, and production slates are abandoned. No court ruling in 2027 can go back and produce the film that was never shot. And no Iowan will ever get to see that movie either.”

Bonta, along with 11 other state AGs, sued to stop the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger in July after the DOJ pushed the deal through. Progress toward a settlement seemed in motion after the AGs and Paramount agreed to a sit-down on Monday. However, Bonta called off the meeting at the last minute accusing the studio of leaking information about their settlement discussions.

Paramount denied having anything to do with the leaks, writing in a statement that they “share AG Bonta’s concerns about the public discussions and misreporting that has surrounded this deal.” Still, Bonta doubled down. He said the AGs and Paramount “don’t have anything scheduled,” and that they won’t return to settlement talks until the studio puts a “lid on their lying leaks.”

Jane Fonda has released a statement in support of Mark Ruffalo after Paramount slammed the four-time Oscar nominee as “antisemitic” for a recent post denouncing Larry Ellison’s ties to Israel and David Ellison’s planned merger with Warner Bros.

“Especially as a Jewish American, I find it deeply troubling to see false accusations of antisemitism used to silence legitimate political criticism in this country,” Fonda wrote in a statement shared to the Committee for the 1st Amendment Instagram. “Antisemitism is real and dangerous, which is precisely why the charge should never be used as a cudgel against people whose political views you dislike, in this case as dedicated a crusader for democracy as Mark, whom we are proud to have as a Committee member and to be in this fight with us.”

“Mark Ruffalo has a First Amendment right to speak out about politics, powerful corporations and this dangerous merger — full stop,” she added. “Calling his criticism antisemitic is a smear to delegitimize criticism of the merger and to distract from the question Paramount would rather not answer: Should one company be allowed to accumulate this much power over our movies, television and news?”

On Friday, Ruffalo shared a clip to Instagram in which Paramount board member Safra Catz discussed “profoundly scary technologies” that tech giant Oracle shared with the Israeli military after the Oct. 7 terror attack. Oracle was co-founded by Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Ruffalo went on to liken Larry Ellison to a “classic oligarch” and warned of what would happen if Paramount and Warner Bros. were allowed to merge.

In response, a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute. Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong — they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind — and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”

Fonda is not the first to stand up for Ruffalo. “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder wrote on her Instagram Story Monday night, “I’m so grateful that Mark Ruffalo drew a connection between the Ellisons providing military technology to Israel during a genocide and their unprecedented media takeover — and pointed out that this is a dangerous consolidation of power that could ultimately be used against us.”

“The idea that he only said these things because the Ellisons are Jewish is LUDICROUS,” she continued. “Is it also antisemitic to point out that Safra Catz, the Oracle executive vice chair who boasted about the ‘profoundly scary technology’ provided to the IDF, also sits on Paramount’s board? Or that Larry Ellison has been buying favor with Trump by donating tens of millions to his political effort for years? Or that he once offered Netanyahu a lucrative Oracle post?”

Taylor Swift shared a touching tribute to the late Dolly Parton after the iconic singer-songwriter’s death on Tuesday.

“A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,” it reads. “But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one. 

“She was truly the gift that kept on giving. Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals. Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously. She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted. Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person. She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist. 

“Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it. For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too. 

“Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”

~ Taylor Swift 

Parton, the queen of country music, died at age 80 in Nashville. Swift, who got her start in country music before going on to massive crossover success, has never been shy about her reverence for Parton, whom she recently described [via The Hollywood Reporter] as a “force of evolution and transformation” in the music business and a “storyteller for the ages.”

Likewise, Parton has championed Swift, telling Variety that the younger songstress was “amazing” for what she’d accomplished in her career thus far.

“I just admire her very much and how she’s handled her business, her personal life, and what all she has meant to so many young people,” Parton said in the 2024 interview. “[She’s] been a great inspiration. And Lord knows we need some uplifting people and things this day and time.”

Last month, Parton posted a video message thanking Swift and Travis Kelce for donating $2 million to Parton’s Imagination Library (a literacy program that gifts free books every month to children from birth to age 5) ahead of their July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s evident that you two have made giving back a key part of your lives, so hey, when you have your firstborn, can I have it? Because that is going to be one special baby,” Parton joked, telling the couple she was “overjoyed” by their generosity and signing off by singing “I Will Always Love You.”

The lights were lit and the music played in the Muppet Theatre once more this year. But before the curtain opened on Kermit the Frog in an episode of television for the first time in 10 years, the show had to be put together — by the humans behind the characters. 

Simultaneously a nod to the classic “Muppet Show,” which ran from 1976 to 1981, and something entirely new to this era of the beloved characters, “The Muppet Show” special starring Sabrina Carpenter notched six Emmy nominations, including production design (variety special), character voice-over performance for Matt Vogel as Kermit the Frog and writing for a variety special. 

The Muppets have bowed in various formats over the years (films, TV specials and even the World Cup Final halftime show this summer). Putting on a Muppet show is always an elaborate production involving angles, runways, monitors and sets that make the audience forget that these are puppets. “It’s this big magic trick that we’re doing,” Vogel says. 

That’s where production designer Denise Pizzini steps in. Her first foray into building for the Muppets was a decade ago, when she notched an Emmy nomination for “The Muppets” series. She’s familiar with the insider tricks of building in the Muppet Theatre: how to set up boxes and risers to even out the height of performers and humans, the 36-inch height standard for walkways for guest stars like Carpenter above Muppet performers and their monitors hidden on the ground.  

Around this infrastructure, Pizzini and her team reconstructed the original Muppet Theatre, from the iconic arches to the filigree to the safety curtain with the door Kermit pops out of in the opening sequence. “I wanted to get that exactly like it should be, like the original show, because that creates a feeling,” she says. 

And it paid off. For original Muppet fans, Vogel hopes “it feels, it smells, it looks, it sounds, it acts and it just feels like the original show.” The Muppets as a brand are something uniquely familiar to generations. Part of being a Muppet performer, Vogel says, is paying homage to the soul of the original character and performer (in his case, Muppet creator Jim Henson himself). Part of it is imbuing a little personal flair to create an authentic representation of a modern Kermit. 

The familiarity of the characters is something writer Albertina Rizzo kept in mind, too. “You can’t veer from their core being,” she says. Kermit wouldn’t say YOLO; internet vocabulary doesn’t fit with the Muppets. “They exist in a different time and space,” she adds. 

Rizzo took inspiration from “Saturday Night Live” and variety shows of the 1970s. There’s a sensibility to Muppet comedy that speaks to her background in late-night television, where the revolving door of guests necessitates different styles. A Miss Piggy joke wouldn’t work for Kermit, and vice versa.  

One thing universal across the Muppets is a certain kind of goofy, physical humor. Muppets never get hurt, Rizzo says, but they certainly can have doors fall on them (as Kermit does in the special) or zoom in and out of frame on out-of-control roller skates (like Gonzo). 

“Muppets are best when in motion,” Rizzo says. That’s in part due to the delight of a well-done physical gag, but also because she finds the fantasy can lapse if the audience is allowed to look too closely at a Muppet for too long. She kept the jokes tight and the physical bits quick. 

The collaboration required to make that rapid comedy work brought Rizzo into conversation with Pizzini and puppet captain Bill Barretta. Barretta has been working with the Muppets since 1991. Pizzini credits him as the person she would drag over to set to troubleshoot the physical necessities of the script. 

The production design team did countless tests to ensure different sets worked properly. Pizzini says she watched the original opening sequence so many times that she had the song stuck in her head. After seeing the setup for a stunt where Gonzo roller skates through fire and swinging blades, she recalls performer Dave Goelz hugging her, ecstatic about the complicated set they pulled off. 

“I’ve always thought that these Muppet performers were just pure artists,” Pizzini says. “There’s a purity about what they do, and they’re so passionate and excited, and they really embrace these characters, and that just spills over into the whole crew.”   

Goelz is the only Muppet performer still in his original role. For him, it is a true return to the original Muppet Theatre. For Vogel, who has been the full-time Kermit performer since 2017, the special was something he had “dreamed about doing for a long time.” 

Henson created the Muppets in the 1950s, and he performed as Kermit until his death in 1990. He never wanted the Muppets to be a kids show like “Sesame Street,” although many Muppet performers throughout the years have also worked on “Sesame Street” (Henson and Vogel included).  

Rizzo says it was helpful to have several people familiar with an 11:30 p.m. audience in the writers’ room. “We wanted to have jokes where an adult would hear it and get it, and a kid would hear it and laugh at it, but not know why they’re laughing,” she says. With a guest star like Carpenter, whose cheeky lyrics are key to her pop diva brand, the writers were able to embrace what Rizzo calls the “inherent sweet corniness” of the Muppets. 

The core magic of the Muppets is fiercely protected. Pizzini remembers forgetting Scooter was a puppet during her first Muppet collaboration in 2016. “I love that the performers and Muppet Studios really guard the brand and take good care of them and are very loyal to the original Muppets,” she says. 

At the same time, each new iteration of the Muppet Show is a chance to introduce a new generation to the magic of the Muppets. “You’re coming in and you’re discovering these engaging characters that are really funny, that are musical, that are magical, that draw you in that same way,” Vogel says. For him, part of the beauty of the Muppets is that everyone can see a bit of themselves in the characters. 

Vogel grew up with the original Muppet Show. He created his first puppets in elementary school out of his dad’s old T-shirts and put on shows in his neighborhood. But even then, he never thought he would be a puppeteer. “Let alone go like, ‘I’ll be Big Bird one day’ or ‘I’ll be Kermit one day,’” he says. “I never would have had those thoughts growing up. Even as an adult, I never had those thoughts really until they happened.” 

The next Muppet Show might be one of those dreams that you don’t believe can happen until it does. Disney has not greenlit a full show, though many Muppet fans are hopeful that the special can act as a kind of pilot episode. But for the performers who have worked together for years, even decades, returning to the Muppet Theatre even once was worth it. “When we all got together for that first scene,” Vogel says, “it felt like coming home.”