Kate McKinnon is having a busy few months. The Emmy-winning actress has spent the new year developing new characters on SNL, including the recent debut of her excellent Betsy DeVos impression, and she’s also building on the success of her breakout Ghostbusters performance. In December of last year, McKinnon was confirmed to play the main part of a magical lunch lady in Amblin Entertainment’s The Lunch Witch. And in keeping with the supernatural theme, she’s just signed on to another enchanting project: Netflix’s Magic School Bus.
McKinnon is set to voice the main role of Ms. Frizzle in the upcoming reboot, and she’s the perfect spiritual successor for the character, taking the reins from another ingenious sketch comic, Lily Tomlin. The animated series originally ran from 1994-97, making this update only the latest in a long line of Netflix-engineered exercises in nostalgia—which may or may not be necessary, depending on whom you ask.
Netflix seems to have high hopes for this particular effort, at least. The streaming service first commissioned it in 2014, conceiving the project as a 26-episode reboot. According to Variety, this Magic School Bus will be produced with CGI effects as opposed to traditional animation, a choice surely to be met with some debate and scrutiny among fans who’d prefer the original’s spirit not be lost. There are still many creative choices yet to be announced, but one thing’s for sure: The hiring of McKinnon means its heading in the right lane.
