NYCC Recap: “The Muppets Mayhem” Panel

With The Muppets Mayhem show being released next year on Disney+, the cast and producers of the next Muppet Studios spectacle sat down for a panel at NYC Comic Con. Stars Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry, Saara Chaudry, Anders Holm, as well as star and executive producer Bill Barretta, and executive producers Jeff Yorkes, and Adam Goldberg talked all things Muppets.

Yorkes started off the panel by describing how his lifelong fandom of the Muppets led him to the show. Since no one had done anything with the backstory of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, this was a prime opportunity for a new show. Barretta, who voices Dr. Teeth, talked about the freedom to build out a backstory for the band.

Chaudry’s character is a social media influencer in the show. Her prowess online allows her to teach the band how to start their own accounts, which leads to many moments of proverbial mayhem on the show.

Singh plays a music executive who works with the band to help them release their first album. Since the Electric Mayhem have always been touring, they have yet to release their first album. While Singh describes her character as being capable and talented, she also mentions that she’s a bit of a hot mess.

Mowry plays Moog, a super fan of the band, who has gone on tour with them, and for the actor, it was easy to be his character when working with the Muppet performers. Holm plays a music executive who has a history with Singh’s character and hopes to sign the Electric Mayhem to his streaming platform so that he could rekindle their past relationship.

Barretta talked about first meeting Brian Henson and how he worked his way up through the Muppets. While Barretta wowed the audience by voicing Dr. Teeth and Pepe the King Prawn, he also described how logistically challenging it is to film a show with the Muppets. Normal actions for human actors require teams of humans to make the Muppets move and interact in a scene.

Goldberg talked about how much of a dream it was to work with the Muppets. He and Yorkes were longtime friends and avid fans of the Muppets and loved having a dream come true. Known for lunacy by times, Goldberg mentions the characters will break the fourth wall, but the concept for The Muppets Mayhem was to set the show in the real world. Fans shouldn’t expect any large fork in the road gags.

What fans can look forward to is the surreal side of Zoot. Baretta mentions that a wild moment with Zoot even freaks out Cheech and Chong. (There are a couple of guest stars we can look forward to.)

The cast and producers concluded by talking about their favorite Muppets. Goldberg is a huge fan of Bobo the Bear, Baretta loves the classic Guy Smiley, Holm is a huge Gonzo fan, Singh loves Miss Piggy, Mowry is a huge fan of Walter, and Chaudry loves Animal.

There are great things in store for 2023, and The Muppets Mayhem is bound to be a crowd pleaser with a cast who adores their puppet costars, and producers who have been lifelong fans.  

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Bill Gowsell
Bill Gowsell has loved all things Disney since his first family trip to Walt Disney World in 1984. Since he began writing for Laughing Place in 2014, Bill has specialized in covering the Rick Riordan literary universe, a retrospective of the Touchstone Pictures movie library, and a variety of other Disney related topics. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill can be found at the bottom of a lake . . . scuba diving