Posted in: ABC, Fox, TV | Tagged: The Critic

The Critic Revival with Jon Lovitz? Al Jean Asks Fans The Question

Al Jean (The Simpsons) asks fans if they want to see a revival of the animated series The Critic, with Jon Lovitz back as Jay Sherman.

If Seth MacFarlane can breathe new life into Family Guy to graduate it from cult status, why can't Al Jean do the same for his animated series The Critic alongside co-creator Mike Weiss? While the two have a job for life on Fox's The Simpsons, the longest-running animated prime-time series of all time, the demand for nostalgia is at an all-time high, especially in the age of the content-starved streaming age. It's something their boss and creator Matt Groening experienced on the Fox-turned-Comedy Central-turned-Hulu animated series Futurama, which has been canceled and revived several times with the platform changes as the series is working on its 13th and 14th seasons. Jean went on social media to ask a simple question.

The Critic Creator Al Jean on a Possible Revival with Jon Lovitz

"Just curious … how many would like to see the Critic, with [Jon Lovitz] return," Jean wrote. The Critic originally premiered on ABC in 1994 before it was picked up by Fox for season two and subsequently canceled. Atom Films and ShockWave picked up the series for 10 webisodes in a shorter format, becoming the series "season three." Jon Lovitz voiced Jay Sherman, host of the TV series "Coming Attractions," featuring the parodies of films he regularly skewers as a critic with his catchphrase, "It stinks!" while trying to balance his sad sack life surviving the daily life of New York with the ire of his own local critics.

The series also starred the late Christine Cavanaugh, who played Jay's son Marty Sherman; Brenda Vaccaro and Rhea Perlman as Ardeth, Jay's ex-wife, and Marty's mother; Gerrit Graham as Franklin Sherman, Jay's father; Judith Ivey as Eleanor Sherman, Jay's mother; the late Doris Grau as Doris Grossman, Jay's makeup artist; Nancy Cartwright as Margo Sherman, Jay's sister; Park Overall as Alice Tompkins, Jay's love interest; Russi Taylor as Penny Tompkins, Alice's daughter; and the late Charles Napier as Duke Phillips, network conglomerate and Jay's boss. Rounding the cast were Nick Jameson, Tress MacNeille, Kath Soucie, and Maurice LaMarche, who voiced various characters, lampooning some of the biggest celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Nicholson, and more. The Critic was also notable for not only having renowned late film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert of Siskel & Ebert fame to guest star but also sing.

During the webisode seasons in 2000-2001, the length was significantly shortened to fit the web-exclusive format when broadband technology wasn't as fast and mainstream as it is now. Retaining Lovitz, Jameson, and LaMarche, with the latter two kept in their versatile roles, a new make-up artist and love interest, Jennifer (Valerie Levitt), was introduced. Would The Critic work today? Fans might be cynical enough to make it work, especially within the Disney paradigm.

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