'Ren & Stimpy' Revival Receives Promising Update

If you’re anything like us, you might have grown up watching the twisted creation that is Ren & Stimpy. The overtly crass cartoon was a huge part of 1990s television and has been rumored to be revived for many years. However, the revival has now received its most promising update.

Ren & Stimpy originally began on Nickelodeon back in 1991 from Canadian animator John Kricfalusi and followed the trials and tribulations of Ren Hoek—an ill-mannered chihuahua dog, and Stimpy—a good-natured and dimwitted cat. The pair were sort of like the Odd Couple but far more disturbing. The series ran from 1991 to 1995 and was part of the Network’s “Nicktoons” slate with Doug and Rugrats.

Though the series was a hit for younger audiences because of its animation style and visuals, it was constantly criticized for continually involving themes that included sexual innuendo, dark humor, adult humor, and violence. Despite all these themes causing creator Kricfalusi to come under fire and eventually fired after the second season, the series still ran for five seasons.

Kricfalusi would still be involved with the series and helped produce six additional episodes in 2006 for SpikeTV. However, it was met with even more criticism between fans and critics alike. Despite the drama surrounding the series for years, it has garnered a massive cult following and has been described as one of the most influential cartoons in history.

In 2020, Comedy Central announced that a revival was happening with Kricfalusi returning, though no movement has been made since. That was until a few days ago when the Ren & Stimpy revival got its most promising update.

Billy West Confirms ‘Ren & Stimpy’ Revival Is Moving Forward

The 'REN AND STIMPY' revival remains in development announcements are coming soon:

"Yes they are! Sit tight and wait for announcements…"

(Source: @TheBillyWest / @whatsonpplus) pic.twitter.com/X4dZFSz0lY

— Cartoon Base (@TheCartoonBase) August 17, 2023

Series star Billy West, who voices both Ren & Stimpy, revealed that the revival is progressing. According to the above report from Cartoon Base, West stated, “Yes, they are. Sit tight and wait for announcements…”

For those who might not know, Billy West is a massively popular voice actor. The man is responsible for Fry, Professor Farnsworth, and Zoidberg from Futurama. Futurama is currently going through its own revival, which is already airing on Hulu. We imagine he is busy, which could be why it’s taking longer for the Ren & Stimpy revival to happen.

There are also industry strikes that are happening, which have slowed down and stopped a multitude of productions. Billy West did state that everyone needs to hang tight for announcements. We imagine once the industry strikes are concluded, we will get an official announcement from Comedy Central about the revival.

With Ren & Stimpy returning, it adds to the list of growing 90s cartoons being revisited. We already mentioned that Futurama is going through a revival on Hulu right now. Hulu also adds another beloved adult cartoon to the mix, as King of the Hill is returning. However, series star Johnny Hardwick (Dale Gribble) passed away. We are unsure if this will significantly affect that revival or not.

King of the Hill is also the second revival for creator Mike Judge, who recently saw his Beavis & Butthead series make its grand return on Paramount.

We also reported that Adult Swim is bringing back some iconic shows in Dexter’s Laboratory, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Bill & Mandy, and Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

dexters laboratory cartoon network adult swim — Credit: Cartoon Network

With Ren & Stimpy well on its way to returning, it appears that 90s kids will have their hands full with the return of some of the best shows ever created. We can’t wait to see what Comedy Central and Kricfalusi have planned for the new Ren & Stimpy. We imagine with a network that is more open to the show’s adult themes, Comedy Central could be aiming to take the beloved children’s cartoon even further than it had gone before.

What do you think of the Ren & Stimpy revival? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!