The Magic School Bus is coming back, and it should be doing so in a way that should be fun for fans both young and old. A lot of the people who watched the original TV series have children now, so the idea of bringing the show back with a new cast isn't totally ludicrous. And speaking of the cast, we finally learned who will be voicing the iconic character Ms. Frizzle on the educational series. The Magic School Bus Rides Again will feature Kate McKinnon playing the popular teacher.
The news made the rounds this week, as part of a slew of announcements Netflix has made about its original programming in 2017. We didn't learn much beyond the fact that Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon will voice the iconic character, but she should be a good fit for the character, as she has a ton of experience in voice work, voicing characters in Nature Cat, The Venture Bros, The Awesomes, and episode of the long-running animated comedy The Simpsons and several other projects. Lily Tomlin voiced the character in the original The Magic School Bus show.
The Magic School Bus Rides Again, formerly The Magic School Bus 360, is going to be a modernized version of the original series. The fun field trip component is staying the same, as is the lead character. The show was also a big deal for a lot of the kids who voiced characters on the original series, and at least one will be back in some capacity as an adult. Stu Stone, who voiced Ralphie Tennelli during the four seasons produced for the original series, has already said he's making a comeback.
As for what to expect from the rest of the series, Netflix is being unusually quiet about this series revival. We'll have to wait for a trailer for the upcoming series to really get a feel for its tone, animation style and general format, and unfortunately that could take a while. Netflix doesn't often release trailers super far in advance, and so far there's not even a date announcement for the animated show, although Netflix has announced dates for a slew of projects through April of 2017, if you'd like to know what is coming up for the company.
We'll let you know when The Magic School Bus Rides Again gets ready to, well, ride again. We'll also let you know if any other major casting updates occur. In the meantime, The Oa and other Netflix shows have been renewed and the subscription streaming service is continuing to produce originals at a rapid rate. There should be plenty of shows to keep us preoccupied until Ms. Frizzle is back.
