All-star comedy 'Wet Hot American Summer' returns to Netflix
Sixteen years ago, a summer-camp comedy from David Wain and Michael Showalter of MTV's sketch show "The State" grossed just $295,000 in theaters and earned an Allan Sherman-inspired, one-star review from Roger Ebert. The cast was largely unknown, aside from comedy veterans Janeane Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce.
Today, the cast of "Wet Hot American Summer" is back for its second follow-up TV series on Netflix, and I think you'll recognize most of the names: "Pitch Perfect's" Elizabeth Banks. Stand-up standout Michael Ian Black. Versatile TV actor Josh Charles. Former "SVU" star Chris Meloni. "Star Trek" captain Chris Pine. The incomparable Amy Poehler. "Ant-Man" funnyman Paul Rudd. Wes Anderson's muse, Jason Schwartzman. And "Saturday Night Live" legends Molly Shannon and Kristen Wiig.
They're all in "Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later," a new eight-episode limited series that brings the cast of the original film and 2015's "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" into the '90s for a 10-year camp counselor reunion. New faces are joining the adults-only fun as well, including Poehler's "Parks and Recreation" co-star Adam Scott; "Royal Pains" star Mark Feuerstein; "Suicide Squad's" Capt. Boomerang, Jai Courtney; and "Charmed" favorite Alyssa Milano.
The two revival series and an hourlong documentary, "Hurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot," are all streaming on Netflix - but curiously, the original movie is not. You can check out 2001's "Wet Hot American Summer" on digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray, and see many of your favorite funny people before years of popular shows and movies made them huge stars.
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.