Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort shingle and Fubo are looking to bring a cult classic rodent franchise back to the small screen.
The companies have joined LA-based Nacelle Company as co-producers on its previously announced revival series Biker Mice From Mars. No release date is set yet, but the toon will premiere on the Maximum Effort Channel—which launched in June as a joint partnership between Fubo and Reynolds’ company.
It marks the first animated series on the family-friendly Maximum Effort Channel. The ad-based streaming channel features a mix of classic content and originals, including the co-view original series Bedtime Stories with Ryan (pictured).
Biker Mice is a revival of Rick Ungar’s (X-Men) same-name cartoon that originally ran from 1993 to 1996 in the US. The series follows three motorsports-loving Martian mice on a quest to protect Earth from a villainous species of aliens while searching for a way back to their home planet, Mars. The franchise has expanded into multiple video games and comic books.
With quirky humor and satirical elements, Biker Mice From Mars appealed to both younger and older viewers. It aired internationally on networks such as YTV, Fox Kids and Le Canal Famille in Canada; and British Channel 4’s youth block T4. In 2006, Ungar revived the series for a single season (28 x 30 minutes), which aired on Fox’s 4Kids TV in the US and GMTV in the UK.
Nacelle CEO Brian Volk-Weiss will direct the revival series’ pilot and executive produce alongside Cisco Henson, Matt Kravitsky, and Michael Goodman. Reynolds is also executive producing with Maximum Effort’s George Dewey, Kevin Hill and Patrick Gooing, alongside Fubo’s David Gandler and Pamela Duckworth.
The series is the latest step in Nacelle’s revival-focused strategy. The prodco specializes in content documenting nostalgic brands, such as Behind The Attraction and The Toys That Made Us. In 2021, it expanded into consumer products to bring back Robo Force, a toy brand from the ’80s. To resurrect the Biker Mice franchise, the company is releasing a line of action figures, which can be pre-ordered on its website.
Reynolds is taking a similar approach by mining nostalgic IPs for the Maximum Effort Channel, and is bringing back 1980s sitcom ALF. In partnership with distributor Shout! Studios, the channel will launch branded segments with ALF creator Paul Fusco reprising his role as the titular alien puppet.