Actor Felicia Day joins new cast of 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'
MST3K creator Joel Hodgson announces that Day will join comedian Jonah Ray in the new series.
Beloved movie-heckling show "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) will be returning not only with new episodes featuring wisecracking sidekicks Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, but also with new cast members including "The Guild" actor Felicia Day to carry on the comedy legacy.
It's thanks to fans raising money on a Kickstarter campaign started by the show's creator, Joel Hodgson.
The campaign has already blown past its first goal of $2 million (about £1.3 million, AU$2.7 million), which means Hodgson and his crew will film three full-length episodes. If it reaches $3.3 million, they'll make six episodes; $4.4 million will finance nine episodes; and $5.5 million will be enough money for an entire season of 12 episodes.
Last week, Hodgson revealed that comedian Jonah Ray will be the next host of MST3K. Since this is a continuation and not a reboot of the series, they also need new characters who will be part of the same family of mad scientist characters from the original series.
"The new Mad will be the offspring of Dr. Clayton Forrester, and the grandchild of Pearl Forrester, and therefore heir to the MST3K experiment," Hodgson said previously.
On Monday, Hodgson announced that Felicia Day, the actress and comedian behind the YouTube channel Geek & Sundry, will be playing Dr. Forrester's daughter, Kinga Forrester.
"Felicia's secret power might be that she is fine being an outsider," Hodgson wrote. "I also just think she can pull off being likable, intimidating and 'crazy' all at the same time: a total wild card! As the next Mad, she's gonna need all that and more. I can't wait for you to meet Kinga."
"I watched MST3K with my brother religiously as a kid," Day posted on her Facebook page. "The reason Joel thought of me for this was because I was in Salt Lake City at the con and I went up to get a picture with him because I wanted to rub it in my brother Ryon's face. So thanks Ryon! You got me my dream job! Please help [make] all the episodes happen so I can rub it in his face a lot!" (Disclosure: I've known Felicia for some years so I can vouch for her being hilarious in any situation.)
Comedians Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn have also been recruited to be the next voices of Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo. But there's also another surprise casting announcement in the works to reveal who could end up playing Kinga's evil henchman.
Of course, the original MST3K cast could also make a few cameos in the new series as well. "I've invited everyone from the original cast to come back and participate creatively -- to write, and hopefully to do cameos as their Mad Scientist characters," Hodgson said in a video.
Every year on Thanksgiving, MST3K has a marathon of past episodes to celebrate the series since they first aired on Thanksgiving Day in 1988. Fans wanting to tune in on November 26 can watch online or via Apple devices.