The Critic might return, so Jay Sherman can have an affair with Mrs. Met

The Critic ran for two seasons across two networks, starting on ABC in 1994 before wrapping its initial run on Fox in 1995. While a wonderful excuse to introduce six-year-olds to Dudley Moore, Orson Welles, and Marlon Brando impressions, The Critic was cut down in its prime and relegated to late-night reruns on Comedy Central. There was also a short-lived web series that attempted to revive the character. Alas, that reboot died faster than you can say Shockwave.com. It was, in a word, a Duke-tastrophe. 

What was really missing was a reason to bring the character back, and now seems as good a time as any. How would Jay react to streaming, Rotten Tomatoes, and superhero movies? Can his father, Franklin, still say his name backwards? (Nilknarf.) And whatever became of those kids from Easter Island? Don’t ask Al Jean, who’s busy noodling ideas for future Critic episodes, like “Jay going to a Mets game and he falls in love with Mrs. Met, who’s hitting on him.” We’d say that maybe Mike Reiss can top that gut-busting idea, but he’s admittedly “sort of on the sidelines.”

“I’m not running it, but I think I’ll be part of the thing. I’ll keep a hand in it,” Reiss continues. “I can’t imagine it not selling because every reboot seems to sell. So why not that?”

Hey, if things don’t work out between Mrs. Met and Jay, we hear Gritty is single.