Kermit the Frog is returning to Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Thursday, January 29, marking the legendary Muppet’s latest entry in a decades-spanning late-night résumé.
The visit continues a relationship between Kermit and host Jimmy Kimmel that dates back to the ABC show’s early years. During the program’s second season in 2003, Kermit memorably co-hosted three episodes alongside Kimmel. He returned in 2015, appearing with Miss Piggy to promote their ABC series The Muppets.
Kermit’s late-night bona fides, however, stretch back far beyond Jimmy Kimmel Live!. His first appearance in the format dates to 1957, when he appeared on Jack Paar’s Tonight show, just two years after his television debut. Over the following decades, he became a familiar presence on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, appearing at least dozen times alongside Jim Henson.
In 1979, Kermit even guest-hosted an episode of the program—a first for a puppet (and/or an amphibian). His late-night appearances would later extend into The Tonight Show‘s Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon eras, alongside visits with Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, and John Oliver, to name just a few.
This week’s Kimmel appearance marks Kermit’s first formal guest appearance on a late-night show since a 2018 appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, and coincides with the release of a brand-new Muppet Show episode on Disney+, set to debut next week. The one-off special, which features guest star Sabrina Carpenter, is being billed as a 50th anniversary celebration of the original series, which premiered on September 5, 1976.
While officially described as a standalone event, industry reports have suggested that depending on how it’s received, the episode could function as a backdoor pilot for a full revival of The Muppet Show.
Either way, Thursday’s appearance places Kermit back on the late-night stage—like a frog to water.
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