More Mel Brooks Without Mel Brooks on the Way With ‘Very Young Frankenstein'

Mel Brooks is a generational talent. People like him don’t just grow on trees. He made films that inspired millions of comedians, actors, and creators. Blazing Saddles is so good that it often gets used as an example of how to properly do comedy about race while also being labeled as something that couldn’t be done today. George Lucas trusted him so implicitly that he refused to look at the script for Spaceballs ahead of time, instead choosing to just give Brooks the green light to skewer his work. The man is a legend, but even he knew when to pack it in.

I recently rewatched Dracula Dead And Loving It, and holy cow was it devoid of humor. I hadn’t seen it in decades, and watching a Mel Brooks movie and only laughing about two or three times was a strange experience. All the elements are there, but the jokes fall flat, and it ends up feeling like a bad stage production of Dracula. That was the last film Brooks directed. He has written, produced, and starred in other things since then, like a Blazing Saddles-style movie that began as something about a black samurai protecting an East Asian village that was eventually turned into an animated movie about samurai animals (something I just learned about and am still trying to wrap my head around).

There was also a Spaceballs animated show on Spike TV that was suspiciously absent from the list of sequels and prequels used to announce Spaceballs 2, but that there will even be a Spaceballs 2 is the important part. Those same comedians, actors, and creators Brooks inspired are now working in a world dominated by IP. So, they’re dipping into the Well of Mel for ideas, and the results have so far been mixed at best. The Spaceballs TV show was justifiably short-lived. There was a TV show sequel(?) to History of the World Part I released in 2023, and while it apparently did well numbers-wise, it wasn’t a huge hit for critics, and I barely made it past the first episode.

Spaceballs 2 will (presumably) be the next continuation of Brooks’ work to hit screens, albeit not until 2027. I got myself very excited for History of the World Part II, and am trying not to do the same for Spaceballs 2. It’s difficult because the original is my favorite Brooks film (blemishes and all). I’ve wanted a sequel for years, but the series let me down. Despite the Star Wars and Star Trek universes being ripe for parody (ripe!), I just don’t know if that magic can be captured without the man himself being directly involved. So, the idea of a Young Frankenstein TV show seems even more ill-advised (until you look under the hood).

Regardless, that’s what is happening. FX has ordered a pilot titled Very Young Frankenstein, which has Brooks’ blessing. Stefani Robinson, who has written for Atlanta and What We Do In The Shadows, will be the writer and showrunner, while Taika Waititi will direct the pilot. Robinson’s involvement is very encouraging, given not only her talent but her work in the horror/comedy space. Having her behind the show makes me feel confident about it in a way that almost feels like getting my hopes up. That being said, What We Do In The Shadows ventured (hilariously) into Frankenstein territory by the end, so maybe my excitement is well placed.

Doing Brooks without Brooks is like doing Batman without Batman. It’s a risk to say the least, and while it hasn’t worked more than it has, you still have something like The Penguin to show that it’s possible. Maybe Robinson and crew can recapture the magic of one of not only Brooks’s best films, but one of the best comedies to exist. It will be a difficult task, but I’m excited to at least give it a shot.