The Kickstarter fundraising record was broken once again since "Veronica Mars" by another cult classic - "Mystery Science Theatre 3000." The campaign aimed at fulfilling numerous fans' wishes of rebooting the series. The new series will feature a new cast with star cameos as well.
Joel Hodgson, the original star and creator of the show, launched the Kickstarter campaign and managed to raise $5,764,229 in just a month. The money, plus an extra $425,000, which was raised outside Kickstarter, is enough to shoot 14 new episodes. Hodgson expressed his gratitude and happiness in a tweet, saying he was "thrilled and exhausted," according to CNN.
The original TV show was famous for taking on B movies and public access practical effects. It was cancelled in 1999 after 11 seasons. Fans are now a step closer to seeing a reboot after the successful Kickstarter campaign became the most-funded video project on the website, beating the previous record for "Veronica Mars," which was at $5,702,153 in 2014.
The ultimate goal for the project was to raise $5.5 million. Money was also raised through the sale of merchandise, which amounted up to $600,000. The total that was raised through the pledges and the merchandise came up to more than $6.3 million, UPI reported.
The beloved comedy series was about stranded space travellers who were forced to watch bad movies while adding their own wisecracks to the movie soundtracks. The show debuted way back in 1988 on a Minneapolis station before it moved to the Comedy Channel, followed by a stretch it did on Sci-Fi (now known as SyFy). The creators have promised that Jerry Seinfeld and Jack Black will be featured as some of the star cameos. However, how soon or where the new episodes might air has yet to be revealed, though a holiday special is in the works.
The Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to MST3K in November and has also partnered with Hodgson and his company Alternaversal for future plans, according to Deadline.
