The Muppets (2015)

This is a clever, laugh-out-loud sitcom written by adults, for adults. It's not too adult for children, but there are definitely jokes that will sail over their heads.

The dysfunctional relationship between sensible Kermit and the perennial diva Miss Piggy drives the show, and there is plenty of inside Hollywood humor, but its most delightful subplot is with Fozzie Bear, who is experimenting with inter-species dating.

Smart and consistently funny, ABC’s The Muppets is the closest any broadcast network gets to a comedy home run this fall.

Smartly updated.... the new show owes as much to "The Larry Sanders Show" as it does to "The Office" or "30 Rock."

It’s a tricky balancing act, and the first two episodes—while far from flawless—have more than enough promise to keep even Statler and Waldorf enticed.

You too may begin to see what this newcomer appears to be: a raucous, smart, gentle, imaginative and consistently funny comedy that scores early and often.

It’s easy to see that the show will only focus on a small group of a large cast of characters, but that group can be bigger than three or four, and Fozzie’s already wacka-wacka’d his way into grating territory by the end of episode two. But you may not even notice that because of one, simple, delightful reason: The Muppets is just pure fun. The characters--both felt and human--are endearing, the jokes are fast, and the workplace set-up is near-bursting with expansion possibilities for the future.

It might take some time to adapt to what the gang is trying to do here, but it’s definitely in sync with the Muppet mission of entertaining everyone at their own level, and for every misjudged moment there are several more that are sublime.

It’s hard, after this encounter with the Muppets, to imagine any confidences from them, private or public, one wouldn’t want to hear more of.

A smart and often witty update to the Muppet brand.