Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are returning for another round of laughs. Hulu‘s Animaniacs reboot has officially been renewed for Season 2, the streamer announced Thursday as part of their presentation at the Television Critics Association virtual event. The announcement came just ahead of the Season 2 premiere, with Hulu confirming that Season 3 will consist of 10 episodes. At this time, a premiere date has not been announced.
The beloved ’90s animated classic originally debuted in 1993 and went on to win eight Daytime Emmys and launch numerous spinoffs before coming to an end in 1998. More than 20 years after the final episode aired, Hulu announced in January 2018 it would be rebooting the series on its platform, bringing back not only Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, but also Pinky and the Brain. The series follows the Animaniacs after they return to the Warner Bros. Water Tower and waste no time causing chaos and comic confusion.
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“We cannot wait to work with Steven Spielberg and the entire Amblin and Warner Bros. teams to bring more sketches, catchphrases, songs and laughs from the Animaniacs to kids and adults everywhere,” Craig Erwich, senior VP content at Hulu, said at the time. “Now one of the most beloved, inventive and funny animated franchises in history, Animaniacs and its cast of witty characters can live on, on Hulu. This marks yet another big move for us as we continue our efforts to be the No. 1 streaming destination for premium animated content.”
At the time, Hulu only handed Animaniacs a two-season order. The 13-episode first season debuted on the platform on Nov. 20. Announcing the Season 3 renewal Thursday, the streamer credited the debut season’s success, noting that it had the most social media mentions of any of the streaming service’s original programming over its opening weekend. The reboot also drew plenty of praise from critics, earning an 80% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, where it also landed a 72% fresh score from the audience.
Speaking with PopCulture.com ahead of the reboot’s debut, Animaniacs voice-actor Jess Harnell (Wakko) foresaw success for the series due to its social commentary, which palatable for all ages, stating, “lots of adults watch Animaniacs and love Animaniacs, ’cause it’s written on both levels.” Dubbing the series a “Trojan Horse,” Harnell added, “the cool thing with Animaniacs that makes it different is that it’s a children’s show masquerading as a satire, masquerading as a variety show, masquerading as a Broadway musical… So there’s all these different elements, and what’s really cool about it is that all this stuff that you loved about it then is still going to be there.”
Animaniacs Season 1 is available for streaming on Hulu. The 13-episode second season is set to premiere later this year, with a premiere date for Season 3 yet to be determined. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest updates!
