Amid a Back-to-the-Future Moment for Animation, Could ‘The Critic' Make a Comeback?
In an era where adult animation enjoys remarkable popularity and longevity, could another classic (albeit short-lived) 1990s animated sitcom make a comeback?
Jon Lovitz thinks so.
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On Friday, the comedian said that he and creator Al Jean are developing a revival of The Critic, the series in which Lovitz played the film critic and Coming Attractions TV host Jay Sherman.
'You keep telling me you want it back. I've been trying for years! Well, now, creator Al Jean is on board!!!' Lovitz posted.
Despite hailing from a slew of veterans from The Simpsons (including Jean, Mike Reiss, and James L. Brooks, who produced the show via his Gracie Films), the show never achieved Simpsons-level success, only airing 13 episodes over two seasons on ABC and later Fox.
It frequently parodied the entertainment business, with Sherman reviewing fake films (his catchphrase was 'It stinks!'), and his boss, Duke Phillips, not-so-subtly inspired by Ted Turner. Its opening credits, which featured a montage of New York City landmarks, from the Central Park Zoo and Rockefeller Center skating rink to the Guggenheim Museum and World Trade Center, were among the best of its era.
But in 2025, adult animation is in a back-to-the-future moment, as long-canceled shows make comebacks, and as staples like The Simpsons (which debuted in 1989), South Park (which debuted in 1997) and Family Guy (which debuted in 1999) remain stalwarts of their respective lineups.
King of the Hill, the Fox animated series that ran from 1997 until 2010, is set to return with new episodes on Hulu this year. And American Dad!, the Seth MacFarlane series (which has been on for 20 years!) and that had been running on TBS, is set to return to Fox after years in relative cable obscurity.
Shows like Futurama and Beavis and Butt-Head have all been revived, as have slightly younger-skewing animated shows like Clone High and X-Men: The Animated Series (now called X-Men '97).
But it may be the return of King of the Hill that should give fans of The Critic optimism. While adult animation has always leaned on the absurd, both The Critic and King of the Hill felt grounded in a way that its peers were not.
Sure, The Critic had its fair sure of absurdity (one character was from Easter Island and bore a striking resemblance to a moai statue), but the New York in which it was set felt real in a way that Springfield or Quahog never did.
And a time when streaming services are hungry for fresh yet familiar fare (The Critic streams on Tubi, by the way), and with the entertainment business writ large ripe for parody in a cultural era dominated by TikTok and YouTube, the timing might be perfect to bring back Jay Sherman and his crew of misfits.
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