Variety is reporting that Shout! Factory has gained control of the rights to the cult-comedy classic "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
The report comes in conjunction with series creator and writer Joel Hodgson launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new season of the show.
The new deal, which was negotiated by Shout's David McIntosh, gives the company the proprietary rights to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" from Best Brains, Inc., which includes all brand assets and global intellectual property. The media company plans to partner with Hodgson in order to create new content, digital media endeavors, live events, merchandising and much more.
"'Mystery Science Theater 3000' is a true cult-classic comedy series that continues to attract fans till this day," Shout! Factory founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos said in a joint statement. "This is a momentous acquisition for us. We've been pursuing this deal for many years, and we're thrilled that it's finally come to fruition. We see that there's still tremendous untapped potential for the 'MST3K' brand. We're looking forward to the next phase of 'MST3K' with Joel."
Hodgson echoed their excitement in a statement of his own.
"I am thrilled to team with Shout! Factory, on of 'MST3K's' greatest supporter, to once again pick up the creative mantle. It's been a long time coming and I feel ready for the show's reboot and hopefully lots of new iterations in different media. I'm also looking forward to working with both creative pros and the loyal fan base who have been inspired by our humble show over the years...Actually, I'm not sure if there really is such a thing as a humble show, let me check on that."
The series' original producer Jim Mallon also said, "Fans of 'MST3k' can celebrate as Shout! Factory begins a new 'MST3k' adventure with the Crow, Tom Servo, and Gypsy reuniting with Joel Hodgson. Shout! Factory is perfectly placed for this next chapter as they have been our partner and excellent stewards of 'MST3k' for the past seven years."
"Mystery Science Theater 3000" first aired on KTMA-TV before joining Comedy Central. It ran for seven total seasons there before the final three were shown on the Sci-Fi Channel. Overall, the series had an eleven year run which included 198 episodes and one feature film.
