ALF is back, courtesy of Ryan Reynolds! But what does this really mean?
The half alien, half puppet, half human, indescribable TV personality, ALF, has been reprised. Ryan Reynolds, ALF creator Paul Fusco, and Shout! Studios are leading the revival of this character in a new and rebranded fashion.
Maximum Effort, a TV channel owned by Reynolds, will resurrect the character officially on July 29th. There’s good news and bad news to follow. We’re not going to be getting a full, Hollywood production ALF reboot. The plan is to play newly recorded ads featuring the cat loving character within the commercial. They will however, begin to play reruns of the hit 80’s show.
It’s kind of genius though and prioritizes the consumer’s time. Reynolds explained, “At Maximum Effort, we love taking risks and blurring the lines between shows and sponsorship because we believe both can be equally entertaining.”
Reynolds has also shared his love of the beloved personality, and his real intention for bringing it back was really to develop new stories with ALF in modern day media.
For those superfans of ALF, this will mean the world to them. Since the show’s ending in 1990, ALF has only appeared on television for a short-lived “ALF’s Hit Talk Show” in 2004 and one episode of “Mr. Robot”.
Whether or not you are on ALF superfan, Ryan Reynolds superfan, both, or neither, this revival is sure to bring a smile within seconds to the face anyone who watches.
8 Classic '80s Sitcoms You Should Be Streaming Right Now
We might be heading into a similar time, not unlike during the pandemic, thanks to the dual strikes from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA.)
The WGA strike began on May 2. SAG-AFTRA began its strike on July 14. Both unions have many of the same reasons for striking, among them being a more liveable wage via receiving a fair cut of streaming royalties. (An explanation on the growth of streaming compared to royalties is available below.) Additionally, both unions want regulations related to AI to prevent studios from exploiting the technology that would negatively impact writers and actors.
Sadly, there’s no real end of either strike in sight. Deadline caused a lot of stir with an exclusive where the outlet quoted an anonymous studio executive. This executive said regarding the WGA strike, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”
Understandably, this has rejuvenated the WGA’s energy around the strike. The Hollywood Reporter has been running a featured title “Anonymous Strike Diary,” written by an anonymous WGA member. This writer wrote, in part, ” … Thank you, whoever you are. Because those quotes turbocharged us. They reminded every writer why we’re doing this.”
So, where does that leave us as consumers? It means it might be a long time until television and film production resumes. This means we all might be leaning on finding shows to binge to pass the time before we get to watch new content again.
Lucky for you, we’ve created a list to help get you started on figuring out your next show to binge. Without further ado, here are eight ’80s sitcoms that you should be streaming right now. (Plus, by binging these shows, you’ll prove the WGA and SAG-AFTRA’s point about how they should be getting a bigger cut of streaming revenue.)
The Preston & Steve Show has been a cornerstone of the Philly morning radio scene since 1998. Hosts Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison are joined by Casey Boy Foster, Kathy Romano, Nick McIlwain & Marisa Magnatta. Read on for all things rock, Philly, and everything in between.
