The Jim Henson Company to Produce New Puppet Talk Show for Disney+

Disney+ is teaming with The Jim Henson Company for a new puppet show — with a twist.

Disney+ has handed out a straight-to-series order for Earth to Ned, a comedic half-hour talk show in which an alien (and his lieutenant!) interview celebrity guests. The series will exclusively stream on Disney+, the subscription streaming platform set to launch November 12th, 2019.

Here's how Disney+ and The Jim Henson Company describe it: the comedy follows Ned, a blue-skinned alien, and his lieutenant Cornelius, who were sent to scout Earth for an eventual invasion — but instead became obsessed with popular culture. Now they host a talk show, broadcast from the bridge of their spaceship hidden deep underground, where they interview our most precious commodity — celebrities — to talk about Ned’s current pop culture obsessions. Ned will be bringing real-life celebrity guests to his ship from across the known universe and interviewing them, late-night talk show style, in hopes of producing the ultimate talk show — making Ned a celebrity and putting him further off-mission. And the more Ned learns about our human culture, the more obsessed he becomes.

"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 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."

Earth to Ned is produced by the Jim Henson Co. and Marwar Junction Productions. Jim Henson Co. chairman Brian Henson (Jim's son) and head of development and production Vince Raisa exec produce alongside Marwar's Joseph Freed and Allison Berkley.

The characters of Ned, Cornelius, their artificial intelligence BETI and army of "Clods" (cloned living objects of destruction, all featured below) are brought to life by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the same team behind Netflix's Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance. 

The Disney-owned studio is also behind Muppets Now, a shortform interview series featuring Kermit and company also interacting with celebrities.