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‘MST3K’ Update: Jerry Seinfeld, Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris Set To Appear On New ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 02:02 PST, Dec 11, 2015

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is returning, and a host of big names from Jerry Seinfeld to Neil Patrick Harris to Rick & Morty writers Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland will be coming back with it.

The cult-favorite show is nearing the end of a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, one that has raised more than nearly $5 million in just a few weeks. The funding is nearly enough for a full 12 episodes of the show, and creator Joel Hodgson is now filling in the blanks with some very big-name writers and guest stars.

The campaign is now in its final hours, with about $800,000 left to reach the full season threshold. As the fundraiser winds down, Joel Hodgson has been sharing more information about how the rebooted MST3K will look, with a team of writers including on-air talent Jonah Ray, Patton Oswalt, and Felicia Day.

As Bringfull noted, there are some other big names joining for at least a few episodes as guest writers, including the Rick & Morty team.

“Then there’s the big guest writers. People who will be there for one or two episodes to help churn out jokes. The biggest names on the list are Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, who have been killing it on the sci-fi comedy front with Rick & Morty, so that’s pretty neat. Other guest writers include Rob Schrab (a former remote writer from the old days), Nell Scovell, Ernie Cline, Pat Rothfuss, Paul & Storm, Dana Gould, and Robert Lopez.”

For those who may not be familiar with Robin Lopez, he is the songwriter behind famous tunes from Avenue Q and the Book of Mormon. But he is perhaps best known for co-writing the nearly ubiquitous “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen. Lopez has committed to writing new songs for MST3K.

There are some other very big names committing to appearances on Mystery Science Theater 3000, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Hodgson has his eye on some other big celebrities as well.

“If any female celebrities are reading this, and happen to be fans of MST3K, please let me know!” Hodgson wrote in an update posted on Thursday. “And if your names happen to be Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin or Amy (Poehler and Schumer) — a few of my current comedy heroes — call me! We’re bringing back MST3K and would love for you to do a cameo!”

In the update, Hodgson ran down the other celebrities who have already expressed an interest in appearing on MST3K when it returns. The list included Joel McHale, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jack Black.

The return of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will complete a longtime dream of Hodgson, who created the show and first brought it to life on public access television in Minnesota in 1988. Hodgson wrote that he has longed to bring it back to life after its cancellation in 1999 and said the recent success of campaigns to revive Veronica Mars, Reading Rainbow, and Super Troopers convinced him that a Kickstarter campaign would be the way to go.

There were also some legal issues to work out, Hodgson wrote, including some copyright issues.

“Thanks to the Last Will and Testament of one eccentric old heiress, the rights were tied up for years. It took time to work those issues out, but with the help of my friends at Shout Factory, a special chokehold I perfected in WuDang that I like to call ‘The Persuader,’ and a night I had to spend in a haunted house as a term of the old lady’s will, we succeeded.”

Fans who can’t wait any longer for their MST3K fix are in luck, however. While the Mystery Science Theater 3000 fundraiser wraps up, Paul & Storm are hosting an eight-hour telethon Friday at 5 p.m. ET featuring some of Joel Hodgson’s favorite episodes.

[Image via Kickstarter]

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