Ryan Reynolds recently announced his intention to bring back ALF (Alien Life Form) in his film production company and marketing agency, Maximum Effort. The American classic television show featuring ALF, the witty Alien, ran from 1986-1990 on NBC.
The show will premiere on the channel on Saturday, July 29, 2023, and will be streamed through sponsored segments instead of full-length episodes. The official synopsis for the Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett-created sitcom on IMDb reads:
"A smart-mouthed creature, ALF (aka Alien Life Form), crash-lands in a suburban garage. His spaceship is beyond repair, he's ugly, he's short, he's got a bad attitude. What's a family to do? Why, take in the furry creature, of course, and watch as he comments on humankind and tries to eat the cat -- a delicacy on his home planet of Melmac."
The unexpected revival of the old favourite TV show has sparked quite a stir among fans of the beloved extraterrestrial character. Ryan Reynolds co-founded Maximum Effort with George Dewey in January 2018.
ALF - A Classic television series revived
The co-founder of Maximum Effort, 46-year-old Canadian actor and businessman, Ryan Reynolds has expressed his love for the wisecracker puppet while growing up.
Ryan Reynolds will be partnering with the co-creator of the NBC sitcom Paul Fusco and the recently rebranded Shout! Studios. Maximum Effort will be putting up old videos and short clips centred around Reynolds' brands and sponsors such as Mint Mobile, Fubo, MNTN, Ring and Hims.
The storyline revolves around an alien from a planet called Melmac who chases a radio signal to land in the suburban, middle-class, Tanner family's garage.
The Tanner family who lives in the San Fernando Valley area of California take ALF in and protect him from neighbours and government officials in the Alien Task Force. Formally known as Gordon Shumway in the show, the alien is shown to hide in the Tanners' kitchen.
Not to forget, the alien from Melmac loves his pills from Hims besides cats - something Reynolds seems to remember and highlight through his brand promotions. He spoke to Entertainment Weekly on July 24, 2023, and said:
"At Maximum Effort, we love taking risks and blurring the lines between shows and sponsorship because we believe both can be equally entertaining. 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."
The show will premiere on Maximum Effort’s first series of Maximum Moments. The series will include the original podcast of the Maximum Effort Channel, Podcats: The Pawdcast.
Michael Ribas, the senior vice president of Marketing and Product Management at Shout! Studios said:
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Maximum Effort, ALF creator Paul Fusco, and Fubo on this creative endeavor focusing on new ALF content. As we look for fresh ways to engage and reach a global audience of ALF lovers, Maximum Effort Channel is a perfect partner. We are excited to be part of this community.”
The NBC show won a People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy Program in 1987 and the protagonist puppet himself won the Favorite TV Actor in the 1989 Kids' Choice Awards.
The four seasons of the show are available on Peacock while the first two seasons can be viewed on Amazon Prime Canada.
