Why Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return went from 14 episodes last year to six episodes

The New York Times

"Netflix told us, 'Your die-hard fans are deliriously happy and going through all 14 of the new show’s episodes,'" says creator and original host Joel Hodgson of Season 2, which drops on Thanksgiving. "That said, look at how long that first season is: It’s about three times longer than a normal season of a Netflix show, like Orange is the New Black, or whatever they’re presenting. We sort of unwittingly created an enchanted forest that viewers can wander in and out of whenever they wanted to. So Netflix told us, 'We think that we can increase more casual viewers if we do a shorter season.' We consequently tried to deliver something that viewers could watch and say, 'Oh, it’s a Netflix series: It’s got a definite beginning, middle and end.'" ALSO: Jonah Ray really hates his MST3K jumpsuit.