Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K for short) has had many a home throughout the years. From its early days on KTMA-TV in Minnesota to its brief run on Netflix, the show has entertained with its hilarious riffs on some of the worst movies ever made for over 35 years (not all of which it was on the air for, but fans kept circulating the tapes).
After its run on Netflix ended, the team behind MST3K took to crowdfunding to launch season 13 on a new online home, the Gizmoplex (with episodes later streaming on Pluto.tv). The Kickstarter campaign was a success, and the Gizmoplex was born.
Now, Joel Robinson and the rest of the MST3K team are ready for season 14, and have launched a new crowdfunding campaign for it.
The new campaign, hosted on Showmaker, has set ambitious goals, with the show unlocking with six episodes (along with six shorts and 18 digitally enhanced classic episodes) at $4.8 million, before capping out with a new season of 12 episodes and shorts at $7.4 million. This is very similar to its season 13 campaign, which successfully funded a complete season.
While many campaigns on Kickstarter have backer tiers with different reward levels and later add-ons, the Showmaker campaign is doing things a little differently by allowing backers to pay for the rewards they want immediately. This allows them to mix and match their choices of digital and physical rewards (including shirts, magnets, and enamel pins), as well as more expensive experiences such as in-person set visits, puppeteering classes, and even producer credits.
The staff has also promised that they stand in solidarity with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA Strike, and filming will not begin until the strike has been resolved.
The campaign has just launched, but has as of this time raised nearly $500,000, putting it on track to reach its goal before the annual MST3K Turkey Day Marathon. You can find and back the campaign on Showmaker.
