The Animated Series Can’t Be Revived, According To Kevin Smith [Comic-Con]

The above trivia, in fact, is not so trivial. Because “Clerks: The Animated Series” has always been owned by Disney, and there seems to be a push-and-full when it comes to the studio’s more adult-skewing fare; there’s a reason why it’s considered minor news when any R-rated film makes its way onto Disney+ (as “Deadpool” and “Logan” did recently). “Clerks: The Animated Series” was not rated R (it was broadcast on ABC), and didn’t contain Smith’s usual penchant for crude dialogue, but it was still considered “rough.” When asked about the show at the panel attended by /Film’s Ryan Scott, Smith recalls it with fondness, the odd characters that were exclusively on the show, and especially how easy it was for him. 

“We talk about this all the time. ‘Cause it was the easiest job any of us ever had, man.  We’d show up in your pajamas and record voice. And s***, I played Silent Bob, so I got paid for no voice whatsoever. The version that we did — that particular iteration with Leonardo Leonardo and Mr. Plug and all that stuff — if we were to do that, the only way we could do it — because, oddly enough, it’s owned by Disney, but Disney would never f***in’ put it anywhere near Disney+ … That leaves one place to potentially it, and that is Hulu.” 

Hulu, one might recall, was one of the many properties Disney bought in the gigantic Fox merger from 2017. While Disney+ is typically reserved for Disney’s kid-friendly fare — their animated features, Pixar flicks, Star Wars thingies, and Marvel whatnots can be found there — Hulu gets the older-skewing content. Surely, Smith is onto something by suggesting Hulu can put some money into a new “Clerks” show. They did it for “Futurama,” after all.