A lot of great stuff has been announced of this year’s Comic-Con: the Wonder Woman trailer looks fantastic, as does the Legion trailer; Doctor Strange looks like it’ll be a real mind-bender; this bit of Guardians of the Galaxy news is fantastic; and even the upcoming Justice League movie looks promising. But this… this is in a league all its own.
Last year, Joel Hodgson started a Kickstarter campaign to revive Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (aka, “one of the greatest TV shows of all time”). The campaign, big surprise, was a huge success: over 48,000 backers raised $5.7 million dollars, enough to produce fourteen new episodes and a holiday special. And now comes the news that the new MST3K will be streaming on Netflix. And check out the crazy talent involved:
[Joel] Hodgson will be involved in writing and all facets of production of the revival. New episodes will feature a new host, Mads (aka “mad scientist”) and new movies to riff. DIY queen Felicia Day will take on the role of mad scientist Kinga Forrester, daughter of one of the show’s original villains, Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu). Patton Oswalt will portray Son of TV’s Frank; comedians Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn are set as the two voices of the show’s robotic sidekicks; and Nerdist podcast co-host Jonah Ray is the lead host. Community’s Joel McHale and showrunner Dan Harmon are also attached as writers. Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester), Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot) and Kevin Murphy from the original cast will reprise their roles in the new series. Elliott Kalan, the Emmy-winning former head writer of The Daily Show, will serve as the head writer on MST3K. The series is exec produced by Hodgson, Richard Foos, Bob Emmer, Garson Foos, Jonathan Stern, Harold Buchholz, Elliott Kalan as well as Satellite of Love, Alternaversal Productions and Abominable Pictures.
Felicia Day, Joel McHale, Dan Harmon, Mary Jo Pehl, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy — that’s pretty much a dream list right there. And I’m sorry, but if the thought of Patton Oswalt as TV’s Frank’s offspring doesn’t feel you with glee, then I’m not sure we can be friends.