Lot O’ Comics employees rejoice! Twenty years after the cult hit ended its run, Nickelodeon is bringing the 1990s animated series Rocko’s Modern Life back for a brand new, original one-hour special executive produced by creator Joe Murray. Casting and airdate for the revival will be announced in the coming months.
Set in fictional Midwestern city of O-Town, Rocko’s Modern Life tracked the surreal adventures of an immigrant Australian wallaby named Rocko and his two best friends, Heffer Wolfe (a steer) and Filburt (a turtle), as they navigate the challenges of early adulthood. Recurring themes included the power of major corporations and fear of death, alongside the usual money and occasional romantic woes faced by someone barely getting by on money made working in a comic shop. The show, which originally ran for 52 episodes from 1993-1996, also slipped some subtly subversive jokes past the network honchos, including a KFC parody called The Chokey Chicken – later renamed The Chewy Chicken once the reference was noticed.
“I’m very happy to be rejoining Rocko and my friends from O-Town again,” said Joe Murray in a statement. “What I have found by bringing these characters back is that it’s not so much about nostalgia, but a sense that they still feel relevant and fresh to me, and after twenty years, they can’t wait to comment on modern life in the 21st century. They still have a lot to say.”
The announcement of the Rocko’s Modern Life revival comes 25 years to the day and date of the original launch of Nickelodeon’s slate of creator-driven animated shows, the first of which were Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Doug. The news follows the recent announcement of Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, a new original TV movie picking up where the series ended in 2004, due out in 2017.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.