ViacomCBS is continuing to expand its repertoire of adult-oriented animated comedies, following the announcements of a Daria spin-off and a Beavis and Butt-head reboot. Collider has confirmed that Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind several re-imaginings of classic properties such as the 21 Jump Street reboot, will return to MTV Studios to revive their cult classic animated series Clone High.
Clone High was the first project for Lord and Miller and became an exemplar of their satirical humor. The series parodied teen high school dramas such as Degrassi: The Next Generation, taking aim at classic teen angst and romance while also satirizing specific aspects of the genre such as the very special episode. Clone High takes place in a fictional high school where every student is a teenage clone of a famous historical figure: the main cast is comprised by clones of Abraham Lincoln (played by Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth), Joan of Arc (Nicole Sullivan, Meet the Robinsons), Gandhi (Michael McDonald, Scrubs), John F. Kennedy (Chris Miller), and Cleopatra (Christa Miller, The Drew Carey Show).
The show was beloved for its humor, but was short-lived, and canceled after only 13 episodes which ran from November 2002 to April 2003. Despite this, its fan base has remained strong throughout the years. Lord and Miller have gone on to become major players in the industry, particularly in the field of animation, in which they directed the box office hit Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 2008. Recently, they produced the critically acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and won an Academy Award for their work on the film.
Lord and Miller co-created Clone High with Bill Lawrence (creator of Scrubs), and all three will serve as showrunners for this reboot. In addition, Erica Rivinoja (South Park), who wrote several episodes of the original series, will join them as the fourth showrunner and will write the pilot for the reboot in collaboration Lord and Miller.
ViacomCBS’ recent reboots have been slated for Comedy Central, but it is not confirmed if Clone High will join them. The air date for the reboot has not been announced.