With all the ongoing international political and emotional turmoil, the return of “The Muppet Show” on Disney+ and ABC is the whimsical entertainment the world needs. The glorious return features guest star Sabrina Carpenter, Kermit the Frog and the rest of The Muppets, who shine as bright as ever. 

The TV Special from Executive Producer Seth Rogen and Director Alex Timbers delivers nostalgic absurdity and delightful humor. While there is no promise of this special marking the start of an official reboot, the sheer perfection of the 30-minute show leaves audiences yearning for more from the fan-favorite felt critters.

The world’s most iconic diva swine, Miss Piggy, was reunited with Carpenter after she was “arrested” for being too hot during Carpenter’s final “Short n’ Sweet Tour” show in Los Angeles. In the special, Miss Piggy meets her match as Carpenter wows with frisky and melodious performances of a duet cover with Kermit of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ “Islands in the Stream” and her hit song “Manchild,” which saw her beating up rowdy Muppets in a bar brawl. 

Carpenter’s comedic timing is also at its best, rivaling her time hosting “Saturday Night Live” last October. Jokes like Kermit explaining that “The Muppet Show” still had a few kinks to work out and Carpenter responding with “It’s alright, I love a good kink,” brought a cheeky breath of fresh air to the show that makes it enjoyable for all ages. 

The special is also perfectly self-aware from the beginning, with a number of fourth-wall breaks and diegetic music sequences. At one point, Kermit walks through the Muppet Theater, past photos of former guest hosts as he thinks a melancholy piano rendition of “Rainbow Connection” plays in his head, but is actually being performed by Rowlf the Dog.

Viewers who haven’t kept in touch with Muppet media since the recent glory days of “The Muppets” (2011) and “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014) may be caught off guard by Kermit’s voice, which — along with the rest of Kermit’s performance — has been provided by Matt Vogel since 2017. Vogel inherited the role from Kermit’s previous Muppeteer, Steve Whitmire, after the longtime cast member was dismissed due to conflicts with Disney higher-ups.

Despite having nearly a decade of experience under his belt as the Muppet frontman, Vogel’s vocal performance remains vastly different from the Kermit who audiences have come to expect, a pattern that becomes especially problematic when lines like Kermit’s signature “yay!” literally fall flat. Kermit sounds closer to Constantine, his evil counterpart from “Most Wanted” — who Vogel also voiced — and the show’s immersion suffers as a result.

Fortunately, while the frog who started it all isn’t quite the same, the supporting cast is bursting at the seams with familiar faces who have retained their charm and then some. 

Highlights include Gonzo, who embarks on a quest to name every Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress while skating through an obstacle course; Rizzo the Rat, who teams up with his fellow rats for an absurd take on The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”; and Statler and Waldorf, who haven’t lost one ounce of wit as they heckle Kermit and company for all 30 minutes.

The special also marks the return of “Muppet Labs,” a recurring segment from the original show featuring none other than Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. The rapport between Honeydew and Beaker is as engaging as ever, though the end result of their experiment — dozens of eyeballs falling out of Beaker’s head — may qualify more as body horror than humor.

But perhaps the funniest moment of the night comes after one of Beaker’s eyeballs shoots into Maya Rudolph’s mouth before a Muppet newscaster announces, “This is a Muppet Newsflash: Emmy Award-winning comedy icon Maya Rudolph is dead.” Rudolph is then resuscitated by a sandbag that falls on her stomach and dislodges the eyeball from her throat. She recounts seeing a version of the afterlife, concerningly similar to hell, to a Muppet she had been flirting with.

After chaos erupts backstage over who gets to close the show, Kermit brings everyone together for a finale set to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” — a moment that evokes a similar feeling of triumph to the show-stopping “Rainbow Connection” scene from the 2011 movie, reaffirming why this franchise has endured for generations. 

If the newest iteration of “The Muppet Show” is any indication of what’s to come for the beloved franchise, fans won’t want to stop them now — or ever.