New 'Mystery Science Theater' Coming to Netflix
by EG
Netflix announced this weekend that it will air a revival of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. The announcement was greeted happily by most fans, but it caused mixed emotions in some who see the series' deal with Netflix as unnecessary after a recent Kickstarter campaign had already provided funding for a revival of the show.
No details were available about Netflix's version of the series, but series creator Joel Hodgson had already raised $5.7 million in a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a 14-episode revival season. The new incarnation of the show is set to star Patton Oswalt, Felicia Day and Jonah Ray, along with original cast members Mary Jo Pehl, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. Hodgson will produce and write the series, with help from Community's Dan Harmon and Joel McHale.
The tweet from Netflix that announced the revival did not give a release date, saying only cryptically that the show is coming "in the not too distant future," an allusion to the series' original opening theme.
Some commenters complained that if Netflix buys the revival, the deal effectively shortchanges those who contributed to the crowd-funding campaign but whose contributions ultimately were not needed to make the new series happen.