Sam and Friends on WRC-TV.
NBC ad for Fraggle Rock in the pages of DC Comics.
An NBC exec in The Muppets rejects the Muppets' show pitch.
"Corporate synergy. It's outta control."
NBC (National Broadcasting Company) is a US television network. It has frequently aired Muppet and Henson programming, including:
- Sam and Friends (WRC-TV, Washington DC only)
- Youth 68
- The Cube
- This Way to Sesame Street (1969)
- Saturday Night Live (1975-1976)
- Big Bird in China
- The StoryTeller
- The Jim Henson Hour
- Fraggle Rock (animated) (1987)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World
- Gulliver's Travels
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- Jim Henson's Pajanimals (started in July 2012)
The Muppets have appeared on many NBC network shows and specials, including the following: The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and its time-slot successors Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Jack Paar Program, The Perry Como Winter Show, The Torkelsons, The Cosby Show, The West Wing, Scrubs, 30 Rock, NBC's Funniest Outtakes 2, America's Got Talent, Deal or No Deal, NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney, The Television Academy Hall of Fame, 1 vs 100, and Happy Birthday, Bob.
NBC's annual telecast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has featured regular appearances by the Sesame Street cast, often performing a musical number when their float reaches Herald Square, and several Muppet characters have been represented as parade balloons.
Additionally, the Muppets have referenced or been referenced on many NBC shows, including Seinfeld, Friends, Law & Order, ALF, Flipper, Dragnet, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, and The Office.
The Children's Television Workshop offered Sesame Street to NBC, but they passed on it.[1]
The station runs portable media content site NBC Mobile Buzz, which has interviewed various Muppets in relation to Letters to Santa. Miss Piggy talked to the program in 2008, (YouTube) Kermit and Fozzie in 2009. (video)
In the summer of 2012, programming from PBS Sprout, including Pajanimals, began airing on weekend mornings on NBC stations, as part of a block called NBC Kids.
For the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, Cookie Monster appeared in a series of short videos that began debuting in November 2017.
Several Jim Henson Company specials are available to stream on Peacock, NBC's streaming service, including Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, The Christmas Toy, and Billy Bunny's Animal Songs.
References[]
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie was produced by the network, and the movie featured a few direct references to NBC and its shows (notably Scrubs and Fear Factor). In addition, the NBC chimes are heard and the network logo briefly appears on the bottom of Kermit's foot in a gag about corporate synergy. The chimes also are heard earlier in the movie when Daniel punches in the access code to The Boss's office.
- NBC is one of several networks to pass on The Muppet Telethon in The Muppets.
Sources[]
- ↑ Michael Davis, "Street Gang: The Complete History of 'Sesame Street", 2008.