Continuing its swift domination of the world’s collective free time, Netflix is apparently moving ahead with a miniseries that will serve as a follow-up to David Wain’s beloved 2001 cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer. E! News reports that the series, which will either be a prequel or a sequel to the original film, is set to begin production this January.
Wet Hot American Summer, though hardly seen at the time of its release, starred a ridiculous number of actors who would go on to become comedy A-listers, including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks. One would imagine that most or all of the cast members would return for this series, though none of them have yet been confirmed (Netflix also has yet to comment).
In addition to the aforementioned stars, the original film starred Christopher Meloni, Janeane Garafalo, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Molly Shannon, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and Marguerite Moreau. One would imagine that Wain might have a tough time getting all those actors together for the miniseries, but Netflix did manage to pull together a similarly high-profile cast for the fourth season of Arrested Development, so it’s not out of the question that all the original stars could reprise their roles.
As for what the miniseries will look like, that’s currently unclear. Showalter stated back in June that a follow-up could explore the first day of summer camp in 1981, as opposed to the film, which charted the last day of camp that same year. And though that possibility seems hilarious on paper (as well as totally in keeping with Wet Hot American Summer‘s absurdist style of humor), we simply don’t know specifics yet.
According to E!’s report, Wain and Showalter will executive produce the Wet Hot American Summer miniseries with Jonathan Stern, Peter Principato, and Howard Bernstein.
We’ll let you know as soon as Netflix comments one way or the other, but in the meantime, what say you? Is going back to this comedy a good idea, or should the original stand alone?