There is now an 8 episode prequel to the cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer, premiering on Netflix on July 31st, 2015 (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The original film, Wet Hot American Summer, was released in 2001. Even though the romantic comedy did not have critical or commercial success, it did gain a massive cult following. According to Entertainment Weekly after “Wet Hot was released on DVD in January 2002, the cult began to grow. Within a couple of years, fans were attending midnight screenings in New York City dressed as characters from the film”. The movie is set in 1981 on the last day of camp at Camp Firewood (a fictional Jewish camp). Wet Hot American Summer is a satirical film that follows the camp counselors on their last day and their last moments with each other. In part, the movie gained such a large following because of its star-studded cast.
For the Netflix series, all of the original cast and the original writers will return. The limited series, a prequel to the movie, is entitled Wet Hot American Summer: The First Day of Camp. The returning cast is filled with household names. The returners include Janeane Garofalo (The West Wing) as Beth, David Hyde Pierce (Frasier) as Henry, Michael Showalter as Coop (Stella), Paul Rudd (Anchorman) as Andy, Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) as Susie, Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as Ben, Christopher Meloni (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit) as Gene, and Elizabeth Banks (The 40- Year Old Virgin) as Lindsey. But Netflix is also bringing new stars to this prequel. Including Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Michael Cera (Arrested Development), and Kristin Wiig (SNL) just to name a few.
Some returning cast members of Wet Hot American Summer: The First Day of Camp were also in MTV’s cult classic sketch comedy show, The State. Including Ken Marino as Victor, Michael Showalter as Alan, David Wain as Yaron, Michael Ian Black as McKinley, and Joe Lo Truglio as Neil. These actors starred in one classic on MTV and are now returning to another classic on Netflix.
One of the original writers for the film, David Wain, explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on how the Netflix series came about, saying, “We always knew it would be great to get together again with this amazing cast of people, and as we were just getting serious about putting the story together, Netflix was emerging with a medium that could be watched all at once”. Wain then adds that younger generations can watch the series, noting that “it’s specifically designed so that you can fully enjoy this without ever having seen the original movie”. The series is not only geared towards its original fan base, but for new audiences as well.
Catch the full series on Netflix in July.
Watch the first trailer for the star-studded prequel here: