NBC has picked up The Jim Henson Company's The New Nabors, a new puppet-human hybrid sitcom, news that comes just before the theatrical release of The Muppets this Wednesday.

The New Nabors centers on a human family and their interactions with the puppets living next door. John Hoffman (Good Boy!) and John Riggi (30 Rock) are writing the pilot script, which was developed along with Lisa Henson.

NBC previously had success in the puppet-human genre with ALF in the 1980s. There hasn't been a major network show to feature puppets in a few years, with Fox's Greg the Bunny being the most recent example.

It is also said the spelling of Nabors is an homage to singer/actor Jim Nabors.