Are 'The Muppet Show' episodes not on Disney Plus? Know why they're missing

Netizens all over the world were looking forward to Friday the 19th for The Muppet Show to be available for streaming on Disney Plus. What came as a surprise, though, was that a dozen episodes and music sequences were cut out from the final product. This led to a contradicting response from the fans, some looking at the silver lining of what seemed impossible at first while others retorted grumpily. Here's the reason behind The Muppet Show episodes missing on Disney Plus.

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Why are The Muppet Show episodes not on Disney Plus?

The Muppet Show was a beloved show for every generation spanning from 1976 to the cable broadcasting era. Since the future is inevitably OTT, it was a moment to cherish when the announcement for the show's entry into the OTT land was confirmed. But the euphoria soon came crashing down when fans realised that many episodes are missing. Although Disney hasn't publicly given any explanation yet, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that many episodes needed to be removed because of issues with the music rights. Even as big a company as Disney couldn't be spared from the headache over licensing rights. 

Out of 120 episodes, two were cut out with no confirmed reason. One episode was with the guest star Brooke Shields while the other one included Chris Langham. Rumours suggest that the Langham episode was removed due to his 2007 arrest for the possession of child pornography. The other episode may be missing because of the Wizard of Oz music rights. The rights on the film belong to Warner Bros and they're reportedly working on a remake, hence the long dispute.

According to Market Watch, warnings have also been given at the beginning of many episodes. The 12-second disclaimer says, "Warning: Negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now." This may be with reference to scenes such as the one where Johnny Cash is performing in front of a Confederate flag, while the Muppets sport the Native American outfits and engage in stereotyping them. 

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