“The Muppets” opened in theaters last week, and it has already raked in more than $29.5 million at the box office.

The movie was close to perfection.  Only one thing was missing: the Muppet Babies.

Launched in 1984's “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and given their own animated series (aptly titled “Muppet Babies”) the following fall, they also made a split-second appearance in the 1987 television special “A Muppet Family Christmas.”

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Today's news you might've missed:

• “The Full Monty’s” Peter Cattaneo may step into the job left vacant by "Bridesmaids'" Paul Feig. The "Monty" helmer is in talks to direct “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” the third installment of the Renee Zellweger-starring franchise. [Deadline]
• Daniel Day-Lewis traded in Abraham Lincoln’s top hat for a pair of jeans. Steven Spielberg transformed Day-Lewis into the 16th president for his upcoming flick, “Lincoln.” [The Film Stage]
• Hogwarts is coming to Los Angeles. NBCUniversal has plans to expand its theme park with a “Harry Potter” attraction, similar to the one in Orlando.[The Wall Street Journal]
• Breaking news: Taylor Swift got bangs! The country music star, famous for her soft curls, showed off her sleek new style on Twitter Thursday.[Twitter]
• Why was Michelle Trachtenberg considered for a role in “Twilight”? “Because there's only so few pale girls in Hollywood,” she says. She makes a good point.[Us Weekly]

American writer William Faulkner’s works could show up on HBO by way of “Deadwood” creator David Milch, according to Time.

HBO has announced that Milch (who also created "NYPD Blue") has signed a new contract with the network, and he's bringing the opportunity to cull material from Faulkner’s literary estate with him.

"I'm delighted to expand my longstanding relationship with HBO to encompass the adaptation of some of the most important literary works by any American writer into television films and series," Milch said in a statement.

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Fox’s new sitcom “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” premiered with respectable ratings after “The X Factor” on Wednesday night.

About 6.8 million people tuned in to watch the multicamera comedy about the disconnect between moms and their – you guessed it – teenage daughters.

But, despite a decent turnout, the show isn’t resonating with critics.

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Right off the bat, “X Factor” got me in a good mood by paying homage to my favorite artist of all time, Michael Jackson. With seven contestants left in the game, each performed some of the best songs by the King of Pop on Wednesday night.

Plus, the late musician’s three kids and his mother were on hand to watch the finalists sing.

So who would have made him proud with their performances? Let’s take a look back.

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Straight from Ari Gold’s mouth: “Entourage” is coming to the big screen.

Jeremy Piven announced the upcoming movie while visiting “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday, New York Magazine's Vulture reports.

After sharing the good news, Piven, famous for playing foul-mouthed talent agent Ari Gold on the HBO show, apologized for all the bleeps caused by his character’s "fudge," and "flarfegnugen."

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“Modern Family” star Ed O'Neill is ready to reunite with the Bundys. E! News reports that the actor’s talking about a “Married ... with Children” reunion.

"I was up for it! I said, 'Yeah, I'd do it,'" O'Neill, 65, shares of getting together with his former TV family. "It might be fun, but then everybody would have to be on board."

The Fox sitcom aired for a whopping 11 seasons, and since it ended in 1997, most of the Bundys have moved on to other successful series.

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Last night on “Top Chef: Texas” we saw the contestants cook low-end and high-end, and four unlucky souls were tasked with dessert.

But first they packed up and drove to Dallas, where a highway patrolman pulled over their contractually-obligated-to-say-Toyota Sienna caravan. The cop was so clearly a plant that I expected him to ask, “did somebody call...the POLICE?” before ripping off tearaway pants as a groovin’ bass line kicked in.

Alas, it was merely Quickfire time. The chefs had to cook on the side of the road using propane burners and ingredients from a survival kit. And they turned out some impressive stuff, considering they used canned foods you wouldn’t even crack open during a nuclear winter.

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“Keep a Child Alive with Alicia Keys” will air on Thursday in honor of World AIDS Day.

The day, dedicated to uniting in the fight against HIV, is a fitting one for the Showtime documentary’s debut.

The documentary follows Alicia Keys and five young adults as they visit the Keep a Child Alive funded sites in South Africa.

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Big Bird and Elmo are headed to the Middle East!

An Afghan version of “Sesame Street” will debut on Thursday, according to a press release from the U.S. Government and Sesame Workshop, the organization behind “Sesame Street.”

Non-profit educational organization Sesame Workshop has partnered with Afghan television stations TOLO TV and LEMAR TV to produce new children’s series “Baghch-e-Simsim.”

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