Classic NBC Sitcom Returning in Major Way
The beloved NBC sitcom ALF is making a comeback. The show is finally available to stream, and new content featuring the alien is in the works. Shout! Factor reached a deal with Alien Productions to bring the 1980s sitcom back to life on the Shout! Factory TV streaming platform. The entire series – alongside the two ALF animated series and the ALF television movie – are now available. Shout! is planning an "aggressive" rollout" of ALF content on its platforms.
The deal was announced on Feb. 25 by Shout! Factory founders and CEOs Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; Alien Productions' partners Paul Fusco and Brian Patchett; Gene Pao, Shout's Executive Vice President of Strategy and Digital; and Jeffrey Peisch, Shout's Senior Vice President of Programming & New Business Development. The deal covers all 102 episodes of the original ALF series, 26 episodes of ALF: The Animated Series, 21 episodes of the animated series ALF Tales, and the TV movie Project: ALF. The "long-term growth strategy" includes the development of new ALF-related content.
"I couldn't be more excited that Shout! Factory will be marketing and distributing ALF and working with the series' creators, Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett," Jeffrey Peisch, Senior Vice President of Programming & New Business Development, said. "ALF was an instant classic when it debuted on network television over 30 years ago, and the series stands the test of time and appeals to multiple generations."
"Shout! Factory is the home-away-from-Melmac that ALF has been looking for," Brian Patchett and Paul Fusco of Alien Productions added. "We're looking forward to bringing you ALF in a totally new way – with new content, unseen art, and restored footage not seen in 30 years. This is the moment ALF fans have been waiting for."
The original ALF series aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990. The series centers on Gordon Shumway, the titular Alien Life Form, who crash-lands into the garage of a suburban California family's home. He lives with Willie Tanner (Max Wright), Willie's wife Kate (Anne Schedeen), their daughter Lynn (Andrea Elson), son Brian (Benji Gregory), and their cat Lucky. Although the show only ran four seasons, it became a popular cult classic. ALF: The Animated Series ran from 1987 to 1989, while ALF Tales aired from 1988 to 1989. In 1996, ALF returned in the poorly-received TV movie Project: ALF, which featured very few members of the original cast. (There was also a short-lived ALF's Hit Talk Show that aired on TV Land in 2004, but that was not mentioned in Shout! Factory's announcement.)