Disney has revealed some casting for the upcoming new Muppets series on Disney+!
Disney+ announced today that Saara Chaudry (The Mysterious Benedict Society, Holly Hobbie) and Anders Holm (Workaholics, Inventing Anna) have been cast as Hannah and JJ in the highly anticipated live-action series, The Muppets Mayhem, joining previously announced stars, Lilly Singh (A Little Late with Lilly Singh, Dollface) and Tahj Mowry (Smart Guy, Baby Daddy).
The comedy series follows The Electric Mayhem Band — Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone and Lips on trumpet — on an epic, music-filled journey to record their first-ever studio album. With the help of a driven young music executive, Nora Gibbs (Singh), the old-school Muppet band comes face to face with the current day music scene as they try to finally go platinum.
Chaudry will star as series regular Hannah, Nora’s younger and arguably more accomplished sister. Raised in the era of likes, shares and the idea that “if it wasn’t posted, it didn’t happen,” Hannah translated her e-acumen and talent for enthusiastic and aspirational make-up videos into a burgeoning social media empire, complete with a legion of “Fan-a-Hannahs.” Her success has unfortunately upended her dynamic with Nora.
Holm was cast as recurring guest star JJ, a formerly sheepish, nerdy intern-turned uber-cool, tech entrepreneur who happens to be Nora’s ex. On the surface, his ambition knows no bounds, but the real JJ underneath still hopes to win back Nora.
Best known as co-creator, writer, and star of the hit Comedy Central show Workaholics, which ran for seven seasons, Holm can currently be seen in the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna based on the New York Magazine article about Anna Delvey, the fake heiress. He hosts the This is Important podcast with fellow Workaholics creators Adam Devine, Blake Anderson and Kyle Newacheck and will soon be seen in About My Father alongside Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro and Paramount+ rom-com At Midnight.
Other projects Holm has starred in includes NBC’s Champions, created by Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy, Netflix comedy The Package as well as Netflix’s Game Over, Man! which he wrote and starred in alongside Adam Devine and Blake Anderson. Holm also served as a producer on the movie with Devine, Anderson and Kyle Newacheck who collectively form the comedy group Mail Order Comedy.
Chaudry is an ACTRA and three-time Canadian Screen Award winning actor and singer who began her career with small parts in TV productions such as Degrassi: The Next Generation. She made her theatre debut as Little Cosette in the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables after which she returned to television in roles such as Howie on Nickelodeon’s Max & Shred, Amy on Daytime Emmy Award-nominated series Holly Hobbie, Saara in Daytime Emmy Award and Canadian Screen Award-winning series Dino Dana as well as Martina Crowe in Disney+ series The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Chaudry was nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award for her role as Clara in the Canadian Screen Award winning animated movie, The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale and voices Parvana in the Oscar, Golden Globe and Canadian Screen Award nominated feature film, The Breadwinner, for which she received the ACTRA award for best voice performance and was nominated for an Annie Award. She also voices roles in various Netflix specials, including Charlie’s Colorforms City, PAW Patrol: The Movie, Bakugan: Battle Planet, Let’s Go Luna! and upcoming series, Daniel Spellbound.
The Muppets Mayhem is developed by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes based on characters created by Jim Henson. It is written by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta and Jeff Yorkes, the executive producers are Goldberg, Barretta, Michael Bostick and Kris Eber. Yorkes is a co-executive producer. The Muppets Studio’s David Lightbody and Leigh Slaughter are also executive producers.
