Oswalt, left, and Day Getty Images
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.
It's official: Mystery Science Theater 3000 is being revived — at Netflix.
The streaming giant has landed the revival that started with following a successful Kickstarter campaign, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The news will be officially announced Saturday at Comic-Con during a panel for the revival.
Netflix will debut the series in what it said is the "not too distant future," with MST3K available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K.
Launched in November, Shout Factory acquired the rights to the cult hit and teamed with series creator Joel Hodgson for a new incarnation of the cult favorite. At the time, Hodgson hoped the Kickstarter campaign will raise at least $2 million — enough to make three new feature-length episodes — with an ultimate goal of the $5.5 million needed to make a full season of 12 episodes. The campaign raised $5.7 million and will be back for a 14-episode season. The Kickstarter campaign ranks as the highest-funded film and TV crowdfunding campaign in history.
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.
MST3K premiered in 1988 on a local station in Minnesota before going on to air on Comedy Central for six seasons, concluding in 1997. Then, Syfy picked the show up for another three seasons until its final cancelation in 1999 after nearly 200 episodes. The series, featuring a man and his robot sidekicks, riffed on B-movies as part of an "experiment."
The series won a prestigious Peabody Award in 1993 and was nominated for two Emmys, as well as a Cable ACE Award. It was included in Time's 100 Best TV Shows of All Time list in 2007.
For Netflix, MST3K comes as the streaming giant is investing an impressive $5 billion in original programming this year alone. The series joins a slate that also includes Marvel's Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, The Defenders, Punisher as well as its Lost in Space revival, Dear White People, Chuck Lorre's Disjointed, Stranger Things, Alias Grace with Zachary Levi, Jeff Daniels' Godless and more.
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