The following article contains minor spoilers for the first two episodes of Clone High Season 2, streaming now on Max.
Say what? Clone High co-creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller have opened up about why the series’ Max revival is putting Gandhi on hold for now.
During an interview with TVLine, Lord pointed out that Gandhi was the reason Clone High was canceled in the first place. “[W]”We didn’t want it canceled again before it even started,” he said. Miller added, “We’re stupid, but not that stupid.” MTV’s Clone High famously ended with the cliffhanger where all the clones were frozen in ice. The first two episodes of Max’s revival series reveal that most of these were thawed but Gandhi was left in the freezer. However, there’s a chance that fans may not have seen the last of Clone High’s party animal.
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When the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max launched a revival of Clone High, it ordered two new seasons, bringing the series’ total to three. While there are currently no plans for Gandhi to appear in the revival, Lord and Miller say he may return if an additional season is ordered. The duo admitted to TVLine that they decided to keep Gandhi frozen because they were “undecided” about how to deal with him. “You don’t want to kill him or anything, then it should just be over,” Lord explained. “He’s still there and can thaw out when there’s a fourth season.”
The teenage clone of Mahatma Gandhi – voiced by Michael McDonald in Season 1 – may sit the revival of Max’ Clone High on hold for the foreseeable future. However, the rest of the main characters of the MTV series are present in the new seasons of Max and will be considered. The Clone High revival includes the return of Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln, Nicole Sullivan as Joan of Arc, and the aforementioned Chris Miller as John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, Mitra Jouhari takes on the role of Cleopatra (voiced by Christa Miller in Season 1). In addition, Max’ Clone High expands the main cast with some new faces – namely Harriet Tubman (Ayo Edebiri), Frida Kahlo (Vicci Martinez), Confucius (Kelvin Yu) and Christopher “Topher Bus” Columbus (Neil Casey).
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How did Gandhi’s Clone High get canceled?
Clone High (aka Clone High USA) was created by duo Lord and Miller along with Bill Lawrence and was originally a Nelvana and MTV Animation co-production. The series premiered on Teletoon in Canada in November 2002, with the first (and only for 20 years) season spanning 13 episodes through April 2003. Clone High premiered on MTV in the United States on January 20, 2003. The network aired only eight episodes of the first season through March 2003.
The reason why only eight episodes aired at the time is a matter of debate. Some viewers in India outraged the show, which portrayed Mahatma Gandhi as an obnoxious party animal, prompting 150 politicians – including Gandhi’s grandsons – to go on hunger strike outside the offices of MTV India. This, in turn, coupled with low ratings, prompted MTV to abruptly cancel Clone High and remove it from airing. (The remaining five episodes of the first season eventually aired on MTV Classic in 2016.) “We’ve always tried to push the boundaries and find the line of what you can satirize — and we found it,” said Lord and Miller to TVLine.
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Clone High is back
Initially forgotten after the cancellation, Clone High slowly but surely built a cult following that led to renewed interest in a sequel. In 2020, MTV Entertainment Studios actually began development on a Clone High revival, which garnered a two-season deal on HBO Max in 2021. The first of these new seasons premiered today, May 23, to coincide with the platform’s relaunch as plain Max. Seasons 2 and 3 of Clone High are expected to be 10 episodes each. Meanwhile, the entire first season of Clone High has been streaming on (HBO) Max since last month.
The entirety of Clone High Season 1 and the first two episodes of Season 2 are currently streaming on Max.
Source: TVLine