An Apple TV+ show shot entirely on iPhones, as a means of vertical integration and unprecedented product placement where the medium is the whole darn message, was inevitable, really. Imagine our joy and surprise, though, when Apple announced that the series pulling this off will be a full-blown Fraggle Rock reboot called Fraggle Rock: Rock On! According to a statement, these “new, original collection of mini-episodes†will see “Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley, and Uncle Traveling Matt, join together again for new stories and classic Fraggle songs that show everyone how we are all connected through friendship.†New episodes will be released on Tuesdays, starting today. The first episode will certainly hit home for kids dealing with Zoom classrooms and social distancing, as it’s about how the Fraggles are separated and come together through fantastical Muppet e-conferencing hardware called “Doozertubes.†The series is “all shot on iPhone 11 phones from the homes of the production team and individual artists from all over the U.S.â€
With Fraggle Rock: Rock On! joining the Sesame Workshop series Helpsters on Apple TV+, and following the first trailer for Elmo’s HBO Max series, this Fraggle Rock reboot further cements Jim Henson’s legacy as the truest winner of the streaming wars. The Jim Henson Company produces this Fraggle Rock reboot as well as The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix, and Disney+ is teeming with Muppets, including Disney Channel’s Muppet Babies reboot. Anyone who’s anyone in streaming is using puppets. And no, Quibi, that talking sex doll doesn’t count.