Good morning, campers! I trust by now that you're well into your marathon of the Netflix original series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp . And trust me, I have no intention of telling your boss that you didn't actually undergo that painful and very complicated root canal today. But who can be expected to be a productive member of society when a cast of such epic comic proportions (Elizabeth Banks! Bradley Cooper! Amy Poehler! Paul Rudd!) have made their return to a cult classic? The Wet Hot American Summer prequel represents the very best of the current reboot/revival/relapse structure that's happening on our televisions and streaming services, and I am so very here for it. In fact, I plan on putting this watching session to bed today. So, will that be it for me and Camp Firewood? Or will there be a Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp Season 2?
Michael Showalter, one of the series' showrunners and stars, told IGN that more counselor and camper antics are a definite possibility.
There’s no reason why it can’t happen. It’s logistically feasible. I can’t speak for the actors in the show but logistically there’s no reason why we wouldn’t be able to do it again...We’re not asking for it and we don’t want to ask for it that we’re asking people to make commitments for it that would preclude them from pursuing whatever else they’re doing in their careers. So logistically, I see no reason why we couldn’t do it again.
That's promising news, especially this early in the game. The show's ensemble is so large and its universe so unlimited by pesky things like logic and time that the possibilities for continuation are practically endless. Some of those options have already been discussed by Showalter and his collaborator David Wain.
I mean we’ve definitely talked about it. It would be impossible for us not to and yeah we’ve got a bunch of different possibilities floating around in our brain.
Working with a distributor like Netflix gives Showalter and Wain the ability to keep this party going and on their own terms. The service famously debuted the fourth season of Arrested Development back in May 2013. More than two years later, and Season 5 is still on its way. A network structure would demand a set timeline, like an annual fall premiere that a cast this in-demand probably couldn't commit to. But, as a fan of both Arrested and Wet Hot, I can confirm that I don't much care how long I have to wait, as long as the actors I love will return and the creative team can make the product that they want to make. And there's always hope for the future of these counselors and their charges. In an interview with TV Line, Showalter assured fans that, "For us, I don’t think we’ll ever run out of stories to tell about these characters.”
I'm calling that full permission to enjoy Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp without any despair that it's the end. All signs point to the series returning eventually. My fellow fans and I will be there with our dance belts when it does.
Images: Saeed Adyani/Netflix; Giphy
