Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel for two seasons, then Comedy Central for five seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort in 2021 produced 13 additional episodes shown on the Gizmoplex, an online platform that Hodgson developed which launched in March 2022. As of 2023, 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.
Leonard Michael Maltin is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry.
Paul Christian Scheer is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. Scheer is best known for his roles in FX/FXX's The League and Showtime's comedy series Black Monday. Scheer also co-created and starred in MTV's Human Giant and Adult Swim's series NTSF:SD:SUV::, and has had recurring roles on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat and HBO's Veep. He is also known for voicing Chip Whistler in Disney’s Big City Greens.
Benjamin Jacob Fogelnest, known professionally as Jake Fogelnest, is an Emmy and WGA Award nominated writer, comedian, former radio personality, and satirist.
Scott David Aukerman is an American writer, actor, comedian, television personality, director, producer, and podcast host. Starting as a writer and performer in the later seasons of the sketch series Mr. Show, Aukerman is best known as the host of the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! as well as the IFC original television series of the same name. Aukerman is the co-creator of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and co-founder of the Earwolf podcast network.
Kyle Dunnigan is an American comedian, actor and writer, best known as a writer for Inside Amy Schumer, and for his role as Craig in Reno 911!
June Diane Raphael is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs Burning Love, Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV::, and Grace and Frankie. Notable film work includes supporting roles in Year One and Unfinished Business, as well as her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner Casey Wilson. She currently co-hosts both How Did This Get Made? alongside Jason Mantzoukas and her husband Paul Scheer, and The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair.
Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, Marie Faldonado in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan and appearing in the films Spy and The Heat. She starred as Beth in the NBC sitcom Abby's.
Comedy Bang! Bang! is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009. Popularly known as Humanity and the Animal Kingdom's Podcast, it is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, creating and hosting the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV series, and co-founding the weekly Comedy Death-Ray stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood.
Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate company founded by Ullrich, to form Midroll Media. Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired Midroll Media, which includes Stitcher Radio and Earwolf, for $325 million.
Jason Mantzoukas is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League, his role as Nadal in The Dictator, and as one of the three co-hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.
Claudia O'Doherty is an Australian actress, writer, and comedian. She won the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy Award and the Brisbane Comedy Festival Award for her debut show Monsters of the Deep 3D. She has appeared in several films and TV series, including starring roles in Love and Killing It.
How Did This Get Made? (HDTGM) is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mockery of outlandish films that are widely considered to be the worst.
The Canon was a weekly audio podcast on Earwolf which began airing on November 3, 2014 and ended on July 16, 2018. Each week, Devin Faraci and Amy Nicholson, of MTV News, discussed films they believed to be worthy of The Canon. The Canon is a list of films that the audience votes to decide whether it is one of "the greatest films of all time", similar to the Western Canon. Some episodes compare two films head-to-head.
Hollywood Handbook is a weekly comedy podcast hosted by Hayes Davenport and Sean Clements. Episodes generally consist of Davenport, Clements, and a guest offering advice, telling stories, and doing segments, all in a highly satirical, absurdist manner. Guests have included Donald Glover, Ellie Kemper, Aubrey Plaza, Kumail Nanjiani, Nick Kroll, Patton Oswalt, Nick Wiger, and Sharon Horgan. The show has been described as "essentially a mockery of entertainment niceties — with Clements and Davenport taunting industry bigwigs [...] about whatever projects they are promoting, all while pleading to be involved with them".
Star Wars Minute is a daily podcast that analyzes, scrutinizes and celebrates the Star Wars movies in sequential order, with each episode covering a single minute of the movies in the franchise. The podcast is hosted and created by Peter "Pete the Retailer" Bonavita and Alex Robinson, and features a rotating cast of guest commentators. So far, the series has covered the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi from the sequel trilogy, Rogue One: a Star Wars Story, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The podcast is viewed as a trendsetter for "movies by minutes" podcasts and Vulture has called it the "Ur-text" for podcasts that examine films minute-by-minute.
Only Murders in the Building, often abbreviated as OMITB, is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The show focuses on a trio of strangers with a shared interest in true crime podcasts, who become friends while investigating a succession of suspicious murders in the Arconia, their upscale Upper West Side apartment building, and producing their own podcast about the cases, titled Only Murders in the Building. Its four ten-episode seasons premiered on Hulu in August 2021, June 2022, August 2023, and August 2024. The series was renewed for a fifth season in September 2024.
Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood] is a comedic podcast that reviews the films of leading black actors and other actors of color and analyzes them in the context of how well the film truly promotes race diversity in Hollywood. The podcast had its inaugural episode on July 26, 2015. Most episodes focus on a single movie starring a leading actor of color. The podcast is hosted by Jonathan Braylock, Jerah Milligan, and James III. The podcast began on the Headgum network before moving to the Forever Dog network.
Amy Nicholson is an American film critic and author. She is the co-host of the podcast Unspooled. She has previously reviewed films for several publications, including LA Weekly, The New York Times, Variety, and The Washington Post.
