Videos by ComicBook.com
Greg the Bunny debuted on Fox on March 27, 2002, and while it only officially ran for one season, it also featured two seasons of shorts and remains one of the most creative puppet shows since The Muppet Show, and easily one of the most risque.
Seth Green and Sean Baker Helped Create Greg the Bunny
Greg the Bunny debuted 24 years ago as a television sitcom that mixed comic actors with puppets in a series co-created by Sean Baker, Spencer Chinoy, and Dan Milano. The three men started this out as a public access television series that aired bi-weekly in New York City, and eventually, the IFC discovered the show and offered them a chance to air regular segments there before Fox finally ordered a first season for network television. Sadly, the show was a ratings failure, with low viewership numbers leading to its cancellation.
However, what exists is a brilliantly comic show that takes place in a world where the puppets and humans all exist, although the puppets are depicted as a racial minority (known as fabricated Americans). The humans have three huge names, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Seth Green, American Pie’s Eugene Levy, and comedian Sarah Silverman. They all work at a television network where they produce a show with the puppets as the stars. However, the story takes place behind the scenes of the show, similar to something like 30 Rock.
However, the stars of the show are the puppets. Greg the Bunny is the main character, voiced by Dan Milano. He is often the brnt of jokes and is comic relief since he is a star on the fictional show, but he isn’t a good actor. The secondary main character is Warren, an ape who wears a helmet and is a veteran stage actor with substance abuse problems. Easily, the best character is Tardy Turtle, a character who sounds a lot like Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons and who has some of the best one-liners on the show, mostly for their inappropriate, yet often accidental, innuendos.
While the first season had 13 episodes, Fox canceled the show before it finished its run and then burned off the last two episodes. That said, the show built a cult following and even more fans when it was released on DVD in 2004. This led to it returning to IFC in 2005, where it began to spoof popular and classical movies with the puppets in the roles. This was also released on DVD and helped build its cult status even further.
