Max’s Clone High, the animated comedy, was originally made for MTV in the early 2000s. It revolves around teenagers who are clones of famous historical figures, brought back to life in the present day. Now, the show has been revived with the same creators and voice cast, but in a different setting. As the characters like Abe Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and JFK adapt to their new lives, Clone High delivers a new season that is just as funny and clever as the original.
Clone High didn’t realize it back then, but its first-season finale set the stage perfectly for a comeback. In the 2003 episode, all the characters were frozen during their winter prom. Now, in the “long awaited and somewhat expected” second season, the Board of Shadowy Figures, the shady group behind the clones, decides to finally thaw out the class after 20 years.
However, they caution each other about the “tremendous amount of drama” that was frozen with the clones. This includes the unresolved love square between awkward Abe, his lovestruck friend Joan, dim-witted jock JFK, and the popular mean girl Cleopatra (played by Mitra Jouhari, replacing Christa Miller from the original run). Season two introduces a new group of students who were born and raised while the original characters were frozen, such as artsy class president Frida Kahlo (Vicci Martinez) and theater enthusiast Harriet Tubman (Ayo Edebiri).
Meanwhile, Principal Scudworth (voiced by Lord) and his faithful robot sidekick Mr. B (Chris Miller) continue their somewhat evil plans. This time, they are supervised by Candide (Christa Miller), a ruthless girlboss who wants to build a literal glass ceiling over Scudworth’s office to keep a closer watch on him.
A lot has changed in the 20 years since Clone High ended, and Scudworth takes the opportunity to catch up the recently thawed kids with a six-hour musical number similar to “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” However, the biggest changes aren’t really about things like poke bowls, Fyre Fest, or Kim Kardashian being a West. The premiere episode focuses on the old gang adjusting to modern cultural norms. In 2023, Joan’s desire to do good gets her accepted into the cool crowd with Frida and Harriet, while Abe’s outdated use of terms like “Indian style” and “gay” lands him in the “canceled corner” with Marilyn Manson and John Wayne. (And just so you know, the show has completely removed the controversial depiction of Gandhi as a party animal, which caused a hunger strike in India in 2003.) The jokes about Gen Z and cancel culture may not be the most original, but Clone High manages to avoid the negativity seen in fellow Max cartoon Velma by taking a lighthearted and silly approach to it all.
The greatest appeal of the show lies in its pure silliness. Despite the serious-sounding voiceovers describing each episode as “a very special episode of Clone High,” the series isn’t about delivering important life lessons or deep cultural analysis. Even when tackling weightier subjects like test anxiety or inadequate sex education, the primary focus is on absurd cartoon violence and immature sexual humor.
Not every joke hits the mark equally well. The concept of “Topher Bus” (Neil Casey) trying to distance himself from his genocidal clonefather through performative wokeness sounds clever in theory, but the execution falls short. However, most jokes land successfully and then escalate into even more ridiculous situations. For example, a seemingly simple gag about two girls riding separate tandem bikes together transforms into an outrageous parody of “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
As the season progresses, the plots become more ambitious, but Clone High never loses its sense of humor. The second-to-last episode, titled “For Your Consideration,” is a game-changing installment that satirizes standalone episodes designed to win awards, with characters showering each other with phrases like “Your life is so epic and award-worthy!” It also showcases the show’s artistic style, pushing boundaries while balancing between emotional and cynical tones. By the end, I found myself getting a little misty-eyed, and then laughing at myself for being moved in the first place.
In a nutshell, that’s what Clone High is all about. It’s not aiming to provoke deep thoughts or bring you to tears. However, it will definitely make you laugh—a whole lot.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
