Last week, Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson announced a Kickstarter campaign to finally bring back his beloved series more than years after it was canceled. However, the biggest question was who was going to take over the reigns of the Satellite of Love, as Hodgson said that the new episodes would feature an all-new cast and host. Less than a week later, with the project nearly fully funded, we have our answer: Jonah Ray. The Meltdown and Nerdist podcast host will be stepping into the Gizmonics jumpsuit as “Jonah Heston.”
Monday, Joel Hodgson (who recently spoke to Uproxx in an interview we’ll be running tomorrow) wrote in an update on the Kickstarter project page:
I probably met Jonah about three years ago, when I did the podcast and we talked about MST3K. It was a fun gig, and two things were really clear: I liked all three of those guys very much, and they all seemed to really love MST3K. They knew all about it, which always makes interviews easier. We had a great time and I left with a really good impression of Jonah.
Hodgson goes on to say that he later had the opportunity to write with Jonah Ray for an awards show and the two really clicked, so between that and the fact that Ray was such a fan of the show, it was a natural and obvious fit.
Jonah Ray likewise took to Twitter to share the happy news:
https://twitter.com/jonahray/status/666312032812036096
https://twitter.com/jonahray/status/666326549067501568
https://twitter.com/jonahray/status/666332832004861952
https://twitter.com/jonahray/status/666333143331287040
https://twitter.com/jonahray/status/666347160103862272
Now the burning question is who is the new Mad going to be? Many are speculating Felicia Day, which would make sense given the updated image on the Kickstarter media player:
