The Muppets "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", "The West Wing" and "Robot Chicken" have referenced The Muppets. The Muppets The Muppets are an ensemble cast of puppet characters known for their self-aware, burlesque, and meta-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim and Jane Henson in 1955, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses television, music, film, and other media associated with the characters. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series "Sam and Friends", which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on
The Muppets Jimmy Dean on "The Jimmy Dean Show". In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett began developing an educational television program targeted towards children and approached Henson to design several Muppet characters for the program. Produced by the Children's Television Workshop, the program debuted as "Sesame Street" in 1969. Henson and his creative team performed and created several characters for "Sesame Street" during the years that followed; Henson waived his performance fee in exchange for retaining ownership rights to the Muppet characters created for the program. "Sesame Street" received critical acclaim, and the Muppets' involvement in the series was touted