By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed
The arrival of streaming utterly modified how we watch tv, permitting followers to look at no matter they wished with the press of a button. That is excellent for avid leisure lovers at all times in search of their subsequent repair, however as an getting old Millennial, I can’t assist however assume the prominence of streaming took one thing particular away from the general expertise. Tv was once a communal ritual the place all of us watched the identical issues on the identical time, excitedly sharing our ideas on the newest reveals with fellow followers; now, everyone seems to be siloed in their very own entertaining bubbles, having fun with their favourite programming within the stifling consolation of full isolation.
Nonetheless, one streaming present got down to change all that: The Final Drive-In on Shudder featured iconic horror guru Joe Bob Briggs internet hosting scary films, providing commentary segments all through the place commercials might need gone approach again when. Whereas the Final Drive-In segments can be found to stream on demand after a few days, they might premiere on Friday nights in a reside broadcast that superfans would watch on the identical time, all whereas chattering with one another and with Joe Bob (and his perky co-host, Darcy the Mail Lady) on social media. This made this one of the best present on streaminghowever it’s the top of an period now that Shudder has canceled the present.
The Man, The Fable
Since he’s one thing of a cult determine, you could want a primer on Joe Bob Briggs, particularly in case you’re a youthful horror fiend. Joe Bob (actual title, John Bloom) began out as a reporter for The Dallas Heraldand he specialised in a distinct segment nobody else cared about: shlocky exploitation movies and grotesque horror films you would solely discover on the native drive-in theater. To cowl these films, Bloom developed the persona of Joe Bob Briggs, a quippy, quirky redneck whose rants provided nice perception into style movies whereas serving as a parody of the prim and correct evaluations from movie critics like Siskel and Ebert.
In 1985, Briggs made an surprising bounce from the printed web page to the stage with a really profitable one-man present, An Night With Joe Bob Briggs. This raised his profile and proved he may entertain giant crowds, and this led to an surprising alternative: he guest-hosted Drive-In Theater on The Film Channel, which led to him getting his personal present, the appropriately named Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater. There, he hosted shlocky films (sometimes horror movies), full with a tongue-in-cheek tally of issues like what number of useless our bodies and bare breasts appeared within the movie.
When Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater ended, he took his distinctive model of leisure, internet hosting MonsterVision on TNT. There, he as soon as once more hosted quite a lot of movies, however he provided extra commentary than ever: slightly than showing solely originally of the movie, Joe Bob would additionally pop up on business breaks, providing additional insights into every film. When MonsterVision ended, although, Joe Bob largely dropped out of public life, popping up twenty years later in a farewell efficiency that ended up reigniting his profession.
A New Period
In 2018, Joe Bob Briggs hosted a 24-hour marathon of films for Shudder, all of which had been initially broadcast as a part of the horror streamer’s reside feed. This was meant to be a remaining efficiency for Joe Bob, giving this previous cowboy one final time on the saddle earlier than he rode off into the sundown. Nonetheless, the marathon proved to be insanely widespread, with Shudder’s servers crashing as a result of excessive variety of followers all dashing to look at this style legend dish filth on spooky films.
In response, Shudder ordered extra specials from him earlier than greenlighting The Final Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggsan everyday sequence. For the following seven years, Joe Bob hosted one of the widespread sequence on the streaming platform, and his most ardent followers tuned in to every reside broadcast, utilizing social media to attach the whole fandom (affectionately nicknamed “The Mutant Household”). As a result of present’s success, it actually appeared like Joe Bob could be doing this endlessly, however just some days in the past, he dropped some devastating information on his followers.
An Emotional Rollercoaster of Bulletins
Joe Bob Briggs sometimes hypes up his upcoming reveals on Shudder, providing cryptic hints and humorous commentary on platforms like Fb and X. Forward of the season finale of The Final Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggshe made a somber-sounding announcement about how necessary it was for all the fandom to tune in for this episode. This led to rampant hypothesis from followers: some thought Joe Bob wanted extra reside views to get his present renewed, and others thought he could be asserting his retirement as a result of, at 73, he’s one of many oldest entertainers within the enterprise and could also be coping with unknown well being points.
When the episode aired, Joe Bob and co-host Darcy the Mail Lady provided followers some excellent news and a few dangerous information. The excellent news is that Joe Bob is sort of wholesome (or, in his phrases, “spry as f*ck”), however the dangerous information is that Shudder is canceling The Final Drive-In. The hosts have apparently recognized this was coming for some time, however they’re at present forbidden from saying precisely what went down and why Shudder (which simply up to date its app in an try to realize extra subscribers) immediately determined to kill the one present that numerous followers (myself included) subscribe to this streamer to look at.
An Unknown Future
The silver lining in all of that is that Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Lady plan to take their present someplace else, however they haven’t but confirmed the place this can be. We seemingly know the place they may not go, and that’s Tubi. On X, Joe Bob retweeted a put up from Damian Maffei that didn’t explicitly title Tubi however accused “that free streaming app with all of the adverts” of being a streamer that has been recognized “to edit films. Reduce issues down, and zoom in on scenes.”
Many have identified that Tubi doesn’t do that and simply streams no matter print of the movie they will get, however the implication of the retweet is that Joe Bob doesn’t just like the free streaming service and is unlikely to take The Final Drive-In over there. Sadly, this brings us no nearer to understanding the place Joe Bob and Darcy will land and after they’ll begin internet hosting films once more. Till they affirm something, all followers can do is speculate whereas mourning the lack of one of the best present on streaming.
The Drive-In Will By no means Die
The Final Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs was in contrast to the rest within the streaming world: it featured eclectic horror classics, insightful commentary, and gonzo humor, all whereas letting followers share the magic collectively by reside broadcasts. It introduced the whole Mutant Household collectively, permitting us to bond over every little thing from Joe Bob’s signature rants to the shlockiness of our favourite movies. Thankfully, the person himself has confirmed he can be returning and hold gracing us along with his distinctive model of comedic criticism powered by many years of arcane horror movie information.
That announcement fulfills the prophecy of one thing Joe Bob has been reminding us of on the finish of each episode for the reason that new present started. A promise, a mantra, and a fervent hope, all rolled into 5 little phrases that the Mutants are clinging to now greater than ever: “the drive-in won’t ever die.”