Some shows just aren’t always able to catch a break as Joey Paur of GeekTyrant has shown with the cancellation of Mystery Science Theater 3000 from Netflix’s menu. It’s kind of shocking, to me, that MST3K as it’s known has been going this long and has been able to land in one spot after another, but in all honesty people seem to like the show and have been keeping it alive for quite a while as though it’s a favored pet that they can’t do without. There could be a number of reasons why Netflix decided to do this, but whatever is the real reason they’re keeping it mum at the moment since it’s only been announced that the show is parting ways with the streaming giant and is being set adrift once again in the uncertain spaces between networks until someone else decides to pick it up. Whether this will happen sooner rather than later is hard to say, but the series creator Joel Hodgson had this to say:
“We don’t know what the future holds for the show, it always seemed to figure out how to survive. From Comedy Central to Syfy. Then kept alive by RIFFTRAX & Cinematic Titanic. Whatever happens, I want everybody to know that getting a chance to be on this show was a dream come true.”
Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter reminds us that the show was accepted by Netflix for two seasons prior to the cancellation, in which it might be that the show didn’t perform quite as well as the network execs might have liked, or was seen as expendable at all times. It’s hard to think about really but when it comes to business there’s not a lot of programming that’s not seen as expendable since each working part of a network is always capable of being excised in favor of something that might work better. Given the idea of what might be coming when Disney+ takes back the rest of its property that Netflix has been using so freely. The deal struck between the two networks has been in the process of being closed since Disney, as you can guess, isn’t interested in leaving any of its properties out in the open for anyone to use, and will not be renewing its deal with Netflix that was struck in 2016, long before Disney+ was even on the horizon. Even before the advent of its own streaming network however Disney was already pulling its various properties from Netflix’s menu since the exodus began back in March of 2018 according to Kasey Moore of What’s on Netflix.
The reason for mentioning this is simple, perhaps Disney+ could snap up MST3K for a slightly cheaper price now that it’s been released by Netflix, thereby keeping a fan favorite alive and giving it a new home that might actually bestow upon it a few more benefits considering that it’s a pretty family-friendly show compared to a lot of the material that Netflix possesses. It could be a win if the consideration is made, but of course it’s likely too soon to be trying to hang that particular coat on the hook and call it done. There’s still a great deal of risk evaluation that needs to be run on the show and it needs to be assessed as to whether the program can actually be a winning addition to Disney+, otherwise it might remain stuck in limbo for a while waiting for someone to pick it up. While it’s true that it has been picked up and revived a couple of different times, it’s still enough to think that the luck that has sustained the show at this point might be running out at one point. There’s nothing negative to say about it other than personally I don’t know how it lasted this long other than the fact that people seem to enjoy the obscure and sometimes silly things that others look at askance. To each their own and all that, but somehow the show has managed to survive and even thrive at times when by all rights it seems as though it should have disappeared by now.
There’s something to be said for the show however since it’s gained a great deal of attention and has even hosted a few famous individuals throughout its run. Among the many shows on cable and streaming you can’t really go on to say that it’s the worst since it is amusing and enough people have said so and made it popular enough to stick around for this long that calling it garbage would be worse than an insult. It’s simply a quandary as to why it’s remained this popular, that’s all. But since it’s been able to transition from one place to another, it’s easy to think that it might find another landing spot eventually.
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