Way way back in the early 2000s, two unappreciated young Hollywood writers dug up famous guys and ladies and made amusing genetic copies. Clone High was Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s break into the industry, and its solitary season on MTV was one of my favorite cartoons — nay, TV shows period — of all time.
Twenty years later, Lord Miller’s ascent into high demand means it became possible to give their original show a second spin. A new season of ten episodes premiered on Max last summer, with the returning voices of Will Forte, Nicole Sullivan, Donald Faison and Lord Miller themselves (who played multiple characters including Scudworth and JFK). They were joined by new cast members Christa Miller, Ayo Edebiri, Vicci Martinez, Kelvin Yu, Neil Casey and Mitra Jouhari (the new Cleo).
Clone High was brought back under a two season order, and Max confirmed today when we’d be getting the other one. Season 2 of the revival, which is technically Season 3, will premiere February 1. This time all ten episodes will be available at once; the previous season was released several episodes at a time over a month. There’s a new trailer too, which confirms the return of Skunky (I wanted to go with THIS splash image instead, and could barely stop myself from doing so):
As for my thoughts on Season 2….well. Lord and Miller only wrote the first episode. They left the rest to what was mostly newcomers, who had a hard time mimicking the feel the pair established. In one episode the teens put on a play that is based around the Twister board game. See, it’s funny because why would you do that? ….Except not really; it doesn’t work. It just leaves you scratching your head.
Perhaps part of the problem is that the target this show was built to satirize, melodramatic teen soap operas, no longer exists. Most of the jokes in Season 1 were exaggerations of things actual teen soaps had done. Without that source of inspiration, the show has no choice but to attempt standing on its own, and so far, its posture is rather wobbly.
But while Season 2 wasn’t the most genius thing in the world (like Season 1 was), it wasn’t a complete stinker either. There were episodes I enjoyed and the new characters fit surprisingly well. Nothing could replace Gandhi, but Topher Bus, a scheming evil loser who overcompensates with social gestures to hide the fact that he’s a clone of Christopher Columbus, was an awesome addition.
Whether Season 3 is a return to form or not, I’ve heard nothing about a Season 4, so enjoy what you can get. Clone High comes back for a new semester February 1.
