Actor Ryan Reynolds could be making fans of a popular 1980s television show happy with news that beloved character ALF is set for a comeback. The return comes with Reynolds expanding on his partnership between his Maximum Effort Channel and fuboTV Inc FUBO, which was announced in 2022.
What Happened: The television show “ALF,” is being brought back to life thanks to Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, show creator Paul Fusco and Shout! Studios. The partnership will see the alien character as part of Maximum Effort’s attempts to continue its growth.
ALF, which stands for - alien life form, was a television character featured in the show of the same name that aired on NBC for four seasons and 99 episodes from 1986 to 1990. The series saw an alien from Melmac named Gordon Shumway crash-land on Earth and live with a middle-class family while he worked to repair his spaceship. Nicknamed ALF by the family, the alien also has a love of eating cats, a topic that proved controversial on television at the time.
The Maximum Effort Channel, which comes from Maximum Effort and Fubo, will air a series of “Maximum Moments” beginning Saturday, July 29. The moments will include sponsored content for companies like Fubo, Hims & Hers HIMS, MNTN and Ring with ALF included in the ads, according to Variety. Mint Mobile, which Reynolds agreed to sell to T-Mobile US TMUS will also be featured in the series.
“At Maximum Effort, we love taking risks and blurring the lines between shows and sponsorship because we believe both can be equally entertaining,” Reynolds said. “Besides my irrational love of ALF growing up, one of the reasons we licensed this show was precisely because Paul, Shout! Studios and our intrepid brand partners wanted to plot with us to bring ALF back to life. Tune in this Caturday!”
The channel will host an ALF “Caturday” Marathon on Saturday, July 29 with the sponsored moments running alongside the original episodes of the show. All episodes will be available on the channel from Saturday onwards.
“It was a pleasure working with Maximum Effort Channel and ALF agrees they showed great insight and intelligence in approaching him for their campaign,” Fusco, who is the creator, puppeteer and voice of ALF, said.
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Why It’s Important: The new sponsored moments using an iconic television character could be something the media industry and advertising markets keep their eyes on.
Having promoted products in content or using celebrities for commercials is nothing new. The format of the ads alongside existing content is newer and could show off the value of the Maximum Effort company co-founded by Reynolds.
The new ALF content could also highlight the value of the Maximum Effort Channel in partnership with Fubo.
“We were so fortunate to bring ALF back with Paul Fusco reprising his iconic role, and thrilled he could star in a spot for Fubo. The ALF ‘Maximum Moments’ are just one example of how brands can seamlessly integrate with our original shows and much-loved nostalgic entertainment to engage viewers in a way they can’t on any other linear channel,” Fubo CEO David Gandler said.
The Maximum Effort Channel also has several originals and licensed television series and movies.
The addition of ALF episodes and the new sponsored content could see increased interest in the channel. During its four seasons on television, “ALF” was a top 50 most-watched series and tied as the tenth most-watched program in 1987. The rediscovery of ALF by both new and long-time fans could potentially spark increased demands for a revival or supplementary content. A reboot planned by Warner Bros. was previously scrapped.
It was also announced recently that Maximum Effort and Fubo will co-produce an animated series adaptation of “Biker Mice From Mars.” The updated version comes over 25 years after the original animated series ran, as shared by Deadline.
“Biker Mice From Mars” will be added to the Maximum Effort Channel and will be among the first animated series to hit the platform. No premiere date has been scheduled.
As Benzinga previously reported, Maximum Effort and Fubo entered into an agreement over advertising for the new channel. As part of the agreement, Maximum Effort received two million FUBO shares, warrants and the potential of additional shares.
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Photo: Maximum Effort Channel
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