‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Revival Is Canceled by Netflix
Netflix announced that it will not be picking up a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In an ironic twist of fate, the cancellation announcement was made just two days before Thanksgiving, a holiday that holds special meaning to the show. MST3K had its debut on Thanksgiving Day in 1988. Current show host Jonah Ray Rodrigues shared this heartbreaking thread on Twitter:
The comedy show is about an average joe and his robots, who are forced to watch B-movies in outer space by a pair of mad scientists. Combining film reviews, variety acts, and plenty of sci-fi kitsch, Mystery Science Theater 3000 had a voice all its own. Although it wasn’t an instant hit, MST3K has developed a cult following. It bounced around from local Minnesota TV to Comedy Central to the SyFy Channel (back when it was the Sci-Fi Channel) before finally finding its new home on Netflix for its last two seasons. Truly, this show could not die.
MST3K's incredibly passionate fanbase has saved the show before — a Kickstarter campaign back in 2015 raised a massive $6.3 million to commission new episodes of the show before the distribution rights were bought by Netflix. Whether or not that happens again, it's hard to believe that this is really, truly the end. As Rodrigues shares in his Twitter thread: “We don't know what that future holds for the show, it always seemed to figure out how to survive.”
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