Clone High Fans Just Got The Best News Ever

Allow yourself to drift back in time to the year 2002. America is on the brink of war with Iraq. Michael Jackson dangles his baby off the edge of a balcony. And, most importantly for us right now, controversial physician, Severino Antinori lays claim that human cloning has already begun and that the first human clone will be born in 2003. And while there is no proof that Antinori's clone claims were true, in a way he was right: human clones, however briefly, did exist — in a now-cult-classic animated series called Clone High.

Clone High was a cartoon show wherein, as per the lyrics to its theme song, "way, way back in the 1980s secret government employees dug up famous guys and ladies and made amusing genetic copies." The series follows the high school antics of those clones of historical figures, including: Abe Lincoln (Will Forte), Ghandi (Michael McDonald), Cleopatra (Christa Miller), Joan of Arc (Nicole Sullivan), John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Christopher Miller), Jesus of Nazareth (Jeffrey Garcia), among many others. Often crafted as satirical send-ups of over-moralizing after school specials of the 1990s, episodes of Clone High dealt with everything from drug addiction to misunderstanding Attention Defecit Disorder (and ADHD, its hyperactive cousin).

Although Clone High was canceled after only a single season, its creators, Bill Lawrence, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller, have careers that span well beyond one high school full of cartoon, teenage clones. Bill Lawrence was already famously known as the creator of Scrubs, but Lord and Miller's careers were just beginning in 2002. The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — these are all projects spearheaded by Lord and Miller in the last two decades. In short: these are creators who can (other than make a Solo movie) do, more or less, whatever they want.

That is what makes the following news such a big deal — Bill Lawrence, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller are all working together as producers to bring back Clone High.

On July 1, 2020, it was announced that Mike Judge and Beavis and Butthead would be returning with two seasons worth of new episodes. That same day, Chris Miller tweeted, "so they're bringing back old MTV animated series, eh?" A day later it was confirmed that Clone High is also returning. In an official statement, president of ViacomCBS Entertainament and Youth Group, Chris McCarthy said, "We are thrilled to reunite with Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence to re-imagine this cult classic as we rapidly grow our portfolio of beloved and iconic adult animation series."

The new Clone High will see Executive Producer for The Last Man on Earth (also a Lord and Miller joint), Erica Rivinoja, as showrunner. If you're wondering, Rivinoja was a staff writer for all 13 episodes of the original Clone High series, so long-time fans are in safe hands.

In addition to the obvious question, "How will Clone High send up modern television," there is also the question of just what "re-imagine" means. For anyone who is not in the cult of Clone High, the show ended on a massive, as-yet-unresolved cliffhanger where the entire clone class gets frozen by their mad scientist principal. For the shows fans, even all these years later, there's still a desire to find out what happens next. How do the clones get thawed? Can Abe and Joan work it after after Joan slept with JFK? Did Jesus Cristo ever learn proper nail gun safety?

There are so many lingering questions, and while an official launch date for the new Clone High has yet to be revealed, we do know the answer to the question the Abandoned Pools song asked before that fabled cliffhanger — "can we start, start over?" Yes, we can.