We’ve got movie sign! Again! Again!
Variety has learned exclusively that RiffTrax and Shout! Studios have teamed to produce four new episodes of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” RiffTrax has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the new episodes and to provide production updates to fans.
RiffTrax stars and “MST3K” alums Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett will be the creative leads on the new episodes, which are officially titled “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments.” Nelson will also reprise his onscreen role as Mike Nelson, while Murphy will once again play Tom Servo and Professor Bobo and Corbett will again play Crow T. Robot and Brain Guy. In addition, original series star Mary Jo Pehl will return as Pearl Forrester.
“Getting a chance to revisit ‘MST’ after all this time has really energized all of us at RiffTrax,” Nelson said. “And for my part, hey, I truly did miss standing next to plastic puppets. It’s been too long.”
The Kickstarter campaign is now live and will run through March 16. The goal is to raise $20,000 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of RiffTrax, though the episodes will be produced regardless of the fundraising total.
The four movies that will be featured in the new episodes will be revealed over the course of the campaign. Production will take place in Minneapolis, where the original show was filmed, while the episodes will be released later this year on RiffTrax’s website. And in true “MST3K” style, the producers have committed to featuring the same kind of (cheap) practical sets and props that the original show was so famous for using.
“We’re excited to join forces with RiffTrax as Mike, Kevin, and Bill return to the Satellite of Love for a new chapter of ‘MST3K.'” said Matt Arsulich, associate vice president of product management at Shout! Studios, a Radial Entertainment company. “This partnership reinforces our dedication to growing valuable entertainment properties by serving their fandoms with high-quality storytelling.”
Nelson, Corbett, and Murphy have been performing under the RiffTrax banner since 2006. In that time, they have riffed over 1,000 short films, major blockbusters, hilarious low-budget fare, TV shows, and more. They also frequently host RiffTrax live screenings where they live riff a movie in front of an audience.
News of the new installment of the show comes roughly two weeks after it was reported that original series creator Joel Hodgson had sold his joint interest in “MST3K” to Shout! Studios parent company Radial Entertainment. Hodgson had previously spearheaded the revival of the show for an 11th season back in 2015, with the Kickstarter campaign for that season raising approximately $6.3 million.
That season and a subsequent one were released on Netflix, while a 13th season was released on an “MST3K” online streaming platform called The Gizmoplex. Corbett, Murphy, and Pehl all appeared onscreen in the revival, with Pehl also working as a writer on multiple episodes.
“MST3K,” which launched on a Minneapolis UHF station in 1988, featured Hodgson and later Nelson and two robot sidekicks as they riffed on cheesy B-movies by providing their own hilarious commentary. It then moved to Comedy Central and finished its run on the Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) in 1999 after 197 episodes. The feature film “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie,” which riffed the sci-fi classic “This Island Earth,” was released in 1996.
English (US) ·