Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter Passes Fundraising Goal

The drive to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000 took two major steps forward today. Shortly after 6pm PST, the MST3K Kickstarter campaign rolled past its initial funding goal of $2 million. And earlier today, series creator Joel Hodgson revealed his choice for the new host of the series: Jonah Ray!

“I can’t really tell you what kind of host Jonah is going to be, but I hope you’ll give him a chance to show you,” said Hodson in a statement. “And even if you’re familiar with Jonah’s career, remember: that doesn’t mean he’ll bring the same exact approach to MST3K. I think a lot of you may be surprised. Plus, like the previous members of our cast, I think Jonah has great instincts and a lot of range. He’s funny, he’s wicked smart, and like I said, his heart’s in the right place. He loves MST3K, he seems to understand what makes it so special, and most important, I know he takes the role seriously.”

Here’s the video of Hodgson’s announcement.

Sharp eyed fans may have recognized Ray’s appearance in the initial Kickstarter video as the host sitting next to the robot puppets, Tom Servo and Crow. Ray is best known for co-hosting The Nerdist podcast and The Meltdown on Comedy Central. Ray is also hosting the upcoming original series, Hidden America with Jonah Ray for NBC’s digital comedy streaming service.

Related: Joel Hodgson Launches MST3K Kickstarter Campaign

With a host in place and the initial funding in place, what’s next for MST3K? According to the Kickstarter page, the stretch goal of $3.3 million will fund six new episodes, while $4.4 will allow a nine episode season to be filmed. And if the fundraising reaches $5.5 million, a complete 12 episode season will be filmed.

The rights to MST3K were recently purchased by Shout! Factory, so it’s likely that a new season will come now that the initial funding is in place from Kickstarter. Whether that means that Mystery Science Theater 3000 will return to cable or find a new home online remains to be seen.

The MST3K fundraiser will be live on Kickstarter until Friday, December 11.

Photo Credit: Shout! Factory
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