Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are coming to YouTube and they’re bringing along some new Internet friends. The Muppets Studio, the late Jim Henson’s global franchise, is collaborating with YouTube celebrities in an effort to connect with younger audiences. Apparently, Sesame Street just wasn’t cutting it.
In a mesh of old and new, famous YouTubers like violinist Lindsey Stirling, and Jake Roper (of video game channel Vsauce3) will use their YouTube clout to film a series of videos with well-known Muppets at YouTube Space L.A. The videos will be aired over the course of May and June.
“The Muppets have been entertaining and inspiring YouTube audiences for several years, and we are thrilled to re-engage current fans while capturing new ones through these exciting collaborations,” said VP of the Muppets Studio Debbie McClellan in a press release.
The videos will be hosted on both the Muppets’ official YouTube channels as well as those of the YouTube celebs. In addition to Stirling and Roper, a cappella vocalist Mike Tompkins, the Green brothers (of educational channel Crash Course), members of comedy channel Barely Political, and trivia magazine Mental Floss are also slated as part of the series.
“YouTube Space L.A. is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of storytellers through innovative programming and partnerships that push the creative envelope,” explained head of YouTube Space L.A. Liam Collins. “It’s not every day that our YouTube creators get to work with the world’s most famous frog, a stand-up comedy bear and the drummer of the almost-legendary band The Electric Mayhem.”
Above is the first of two videos from the collaboration that have already debuted, featuring the Muppets’ Gonzo and Rizzo with Roper and Matthew Santoro in a detective story entitled “What If Quicksilver Ran Past You,”(the video already has 1.2 million views). The second video, Barely Political interviewing Statler and Waldorf, is also ready for your viewing pleasure.
