Comedian Jon Lovitz And Producer Al Jean Want To Revive Their Cult Classic Cartoon ‘The Critic’
Revivals are all the rage, and if the trend stays strong, as excessive as it’s getting, another long-awaited reboot could be in the works. Beyond that, the original series’ creators want to see it happen, which is always a good sign.
Actor/comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Jon Lovitz thinks the time is right to bring back one of his most memorable but short-lived shows, the 1990s primetime cartoon The Critic. What’s more, the series co-creator, Al Jean, is also up for the idea.
“Critic Fans!!!!” Lovitz posted enthusiastically on X. “You keep telling me you want it back. I’ve been trying for years! Well, now, creator Al Jean is on board!!! If you want it back, we need your help! Please like this post and spread the word! So we can show the studio how many people want it.”
Al Jean would second the notion in his own post by canvassing his followers. “Just curious …” he wrote, “how many would like to see the Critic, with @realjonlovitz return [?]”
It only lasted two seasons and bounced between networks as well as nights, but The Critic has held a place in the hearts and minds of everyone who watched it back in the day. Though they might not have come out in force, arguably, the show was done in by everything working against it.
Neither the regime at Fox or ABC, where the series began, had much faith in it, and matters weren’t helped by the irrational grudge Simpsons creator Matt Groening held. While The Critic was billed from the creators of The Simpsons, Groening had nothing to do with it. As such, his gears were grinding with a gnawing screech when the toons crossed over in The Simpsons episode “A Star Is Burns.”
From that point in 1995, both series shared a block on Sunday nights for one season until The Critic was canceled. Except for the one appearance by Jay Sherman in Springfield, the two shows had nothing to do with each other.
Originally conceived as an offbeat spinoff starring Krusty the Klown in New York, The Critic followed the misadventures of Sherman (voiced by Lovitz) in The Big Apple, juggling his career at a TV station with fatherhood and a rocky love life while coming to terms with his zany bourgeois upbringing.
The series was created by former Simpsons showrunners Al Jean and Mike Reiss and featured the voice talents of Lovitz and Maurice LaMarche, who periodically performed his Orson Welles impersonation to hock fictional products like “Rosebud Frozen Peas.”
Both men have been prolific behind a microphone for decades and could have the energy to reunite and tell us what stinks one more time. Nothing has been announced yet, but that will be up to the fans and any network or streamer who sees an opportunity.
More About:TV Show News