As part of Disney’s efforts to entice us all to subscribe to their new service, Disney+, they recently announced that they are teaming up with the Jim Henson Co. to create a new show involving puppets made by the famous studio. It will be called ‘Earth to Ned’ and will be a half-hour comedic talk show where an alien and his “lieutenant” interview celebrity guests. The show will be exclusively on Disney+.
The idea is that the show is about “Ned,” a blue-skinned alien who was sent to scout out Earth for an eventual invasion by his home planet. He’s joined by his lieutenant “Cornelius.” However, in the course of learning more about us to find our weaknesses, he becomes obsessed with pop culture and starts his own talk show. The show is hosted from a room on his spaceship where they interview various celebrities about Ned’s cultural obsessions.
Dan Silver, a VP at Disney+ quipped:
“Disney has a long history of giving audiences a glimpse at faraway lands and bringing new talent into the spotlight. We believe Ned is next in line. We’re lucky to have the talents of the Jim Henson Co. and the folks at Marwar Junction Productions helping Ned, Cornelius, BETI and the Clods to execute and fully realize their vision. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Ned for promising to entertain us, rather than destroy us all.”
Given that the puppets will all be made by the Jim Henson company, we can be sure the look will be amazing. Just take a look at their work on Netflix’s ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance‘ to get an idea of how detailed and expansive they can be. Hopefully, they can recapture the magic of ‘The Muppet Show’ and the way the puppets meshed with the celebs of the 70s and 80s.
Disney+ is set to launch November 12.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
