Jim Henson Co.’s long standing history of collaboration with Disney will continue on the new Disney+ streaming service with the debut of an all-new puppet-based show. “Earth to Ned” will be a 30-minute comedic series in which a blue alien (Ned) and his Lieutenant interview various celebrity guests.
The two parties had previously been in discussion for a Muppets revival on the Disney+ platform, but talks broke down last month due to creative differences. Instead, “Earth to Ned” has been given a straight-to-series order for an exclusive run on Disney+.
The show will follow Ned, a blue-skinned alien, and his lieutenant Cornelius, who were sent to scout Earth for an eventual invasion. However, during their visit, Ned and Cornelius became obsessed with pop culture and now host a talk show that is broadcast from the bridge of their spaceship. The show will feature real-life celebrity guests being interviewed late-night talk show style.
Earth to Ned will be produced by the Jim Henson Co. and Marwar Junction Productions, with Jim Henson Co. chairman Brian Henson producing. Head of development and production Vince Raisa will be the executive producer alongside Joseph Freed and Allison Berkley of Marwar Junction Productions.
“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,” said Dan Silver, VP of unscripted originals at Disney+. “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.”
The famous Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will be bringing to life the characters of Ned, Cornelius, their AI BETI, and an army of Clods (cloned living objects of destruction). It will (eventually) join the slate of unscripted programming coming to Disney+, which includes National Geographic’s “The World According to Jeff Goldblum”, Kristen Bell’s “Encore,” and Marvel’s “Hero Project”. You can sign up for Disney+ ahead of its official launch by visiting http://www.disneyplus.com/.
Will you be watching “Earth to Ned,” or is there a different show you are looking forward to watching on Disney+? Let us know in the comments below.
Sounds a lot like the setup behind “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”.
A few years ago there was a cable series initially with a human host and a puppet panel who debated news and politics in a satire of the Sunday morning network talk shows. Shows were only about 10 minutes, IIRC and I don’t remember the name. But it was quite funny and deservedly skewered the Sunday morning “Meet the Press” and other similar shows. So this should work well assuming Henson Co. does their usual excellent work as late night shows are a good target, which Craig Ferguson’s show demonstrated with its use of puppets and mechanical devices.