It has been more than 15 years sinceMystery Science Theater 3000went off the air, but the show has been kept alive by fans in the time since. For years, many of us hoped thatJoel Hodgsonand the gang would return to the Satellite of Love for some more riff-filled episodes, and that wish is being granted. Thanks to one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all-time,MST3Kis coming back in the not-too-distant future, and it will be on Netflix.
The news broke courtesy of creatorJoel Hodgsonhimself on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con during a panel for the show. The news was later confirmed by Netflix via theirTwitteraccount, in an all too perfect way. The tweet featured the classic silhouettes sitting in the theater, pointing up at a screen with the Netflix logo pasted across it. The tweet was captioned simply with “In the not-too-distant future,” harkening back to the famous opening line from theMystery Science Theater 3000theme song.
TheMST3Krevival will feature an all-new cast, but creatorJoel Hodgsonis still heavily involved in every facet of the production, including writing riffs for all of the upcoming episodes. He has also noted that many of those involved in the show over the years are writing on the show, and will be making appearances. During theKickstarter campaign, it was announced thatJonah Ray, co-host ofThe Nerdist PodcastandThe Meltdownon Comedy Central, will be the new host of the show. ComedianBaron Vaughnwill be taking on the role of the robot Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot is going to be voiced byHampton Yount.Hodgsonalso confirmed thatFelicia Daywill be taking on the role of Kinga Forrester, daughter of Dr. Clayton Forrester from the show’s original run.Patton Oswaltis also joining up as the son of TV’s Frank.
The Kickstarter campaign that took place last year in order to make this revival happen was an insanely massive success.Hodgsonhad originally hoped to raise $2 million in order to produce 3 new episodes. Instead, they were able to raise $5.7 million, which means we are getting 14 feature-length episodes when the show hits Netflix. The creative team behind the show has not yet revealed what movies they will be riffing over in the upcoming season, butHodgsondid reveal at a live taping ofThe Nerdist Podcastover SDCC that all of the riffs for the shows are complete, and they are currently working on filming and writing the other bits for the show.
Mystery Science Theater 3000originally aired on a small, local station in Minnesota in 1988, and was eventually picked up by Comedy Central, where it ran for six seasons. The show then moved over to Syfy, where it ran for another 3 before concluding. All told, there were nearly 200 episodes of the show and a feature film, but ever since, fans have been wanting more, and now they are getting it. There is no word on when the newMST3Kepisodes will hit Netflix, but we will be sure to keep you posted as the information becomes available.
