Meep Meep TV

It’s a few weeks before the new sitcom The Muppets airs on ABC, and Bill Prady, its co-creator and executive producer, is on the set, watching Gonzo rehearse his lines. The show is a behind-the-scenes look at the Muppets’ private life as they produce a late-night talk show, much in the same style as 30 Rock. In today’s scene, Gonzo’s computer crashes. When the IT guy, Chip—a new Muppet—goes to fix it, he discovers that Gonzo has been catfishing women by posing online as the actor Liam Hemsworth.

“Even I know that won’t work, and my entire life consists of two dates with a cashier from Walgreens,” Chip says. Prady frowns. “That’s an unnecessary jab at women who work at Walgreens,” he says. Prady, 55, has a large head, close-cropped hair, and a wide, thin mouth that makes him look a bit like one of the Muppets he’s filming—specifically Chip, who was modeled after Prady.