New Muppets holiday special to air on NBC

If you start to get tired of the season’s cliched displays of green and red, fear not. TV has the antidote.

Green: Kermit the Frog. Red: Miss Piggy’s faux fur coat.

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JOHN BARRETT

The Muppets

Vote: On your favorite Muppet

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The Muppets are back for a new holiday special airing Wednesday night on NBC.

In “A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa,” it’s Christmas Eve, and Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo are among the masses waiting at the post office. Muppet mischief erupts when they enter the mailroom. In the resulting chaos, several letters addressed to Santa end up in Gonzo’s bag, including one from Claire (Madison Pettis), a girl who lives in their building.

Despite Miss Piggy’s protests about missing their tropical vacation, the group embarks on a mission to get to the North Pole and deliver the wayward letters.

Ultimately, the true spirit of the season triumphs.

Producer Martin Baker, whose longtime career with the Muppets dates to when he first met their creator, Jim Henson, in the late 1960s, said there are a few reasons why the beloved characters are well-suited for holiday fare.

“I think, to me it’s all about family,” Baker said. “It’s a time when families are together.”

And the holidays and the Muppets evoke a similar sense of nostalgia. “So many of our audience (members) are people who grew up with the Muppets,” Baker said. “It’s nostalgic for the parents because (of) what it meant to them, and they in turn are bringing their children to it” because it’s family-friendly and entertaining.

That sense of affection for the characters makes it relatively easy to attract big names to a production, he said. “Letters to Santa” includes appearances by Whoopi Goldberg, Jane Krakowski, Nathan Lane and Uma Thurman.

The elements add up to a special Baker hopes will appeal to children and adults. “What we’re all looking for is for this to become a holiday classic,” he said.

“A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa” airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC. End adv wknd Dec. 13-14