Posted in: Preview, TV | Tagged: Boris Karloff, Edgar Allan Poe, jack nicholson, mark hamill, MeTV, Rich Koz, roger corman, svengoolie, The Raven, Vincent Price

Svengoolie Expanding to 2-1/2 Hours Beginning This Saturday On MeTV

Want more Svengoolie?  You've got it!  Starting this Saturday, January 7, the popular MeTV genre movie show is expanding.  No, not to Berwyn, but rather in its runtime.  Longtime fans will know that the show has always had a two-hour runtime, but starting with this weekend's show, that will be extended by half an hour from now on, which will give certain films more room to air in their entirety and more time for the titular host to get some more jokes in.

The announcement of Svengoolie expanding its runtime was made in Fangoria recently, with Svengoolie himself (played by Rich Koz) saying, "I'm looking forward to the reaction we will get from our legion of Sven fans to getting more of what we do across multiple mediums! Very honestly, the fan appreciation and goodwill towards us have brought us to such heights. Also, giving back in this way keeps me from having to write a million thank you cards."

The new two-and-a-half-hour-long Svengoolie kicks off this Saturday night on MeTV with an episode that will air the 1963 Roger Corman horror film The Raven, based on the iconic Edgar Allan Poe poem and starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Jack Nicholson.

The show started back in 1970 with Jerry G. Bishop as the original version of the Svengoolie character.  Rich Koz took over the role in 1978, initially as "Son of Svengoolie", and played that version until the show's cancelation in 1986.  It was resurrected in 1994 as simply Svengoolie with Koz again in the role, which he's continued with to this day.  Originally just a regional show in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas, Svengoolie went nationwide on MeTV starting in 2011 and has found a large, dedicated fanbase (which contains many celebrities and pop culture stars such as Mark Hamill) across America since.  The character has now branched out into merchandise, a cartoon show (also on MeTV), and even appearances in DC Comics starting in 2019.

To catch the new, longer Svengoolie, tune in to MeTV this Saturday at 8 pm.

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