How do you pull off a prequel to a cult comedy movie 15 years later?
It’s not exactly movie magic, but it’ll be funny. “We thought it was funny that in the original we played a bunch of thirty year olds playing teenagers. Now we’re in our forties and our characters are even younger,” said Michael Showalter, who co-created Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp with David Wain. Wain directed the eight-episode series for Netflix — coming July 31 — and taking place two months before the final day of camp, depicted in the 2001 film.
The cast also includes Elizabeth Banks, H. Jon Benjamin, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Nina Hellman, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, AD Miles, Christopher Meloni, Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Marisa Ryan, Molly Shannon plus newcomers including John Slattery, Michaela Watkins, Kristen Wiig, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Jason Schwartzman, Jon Hamm, Chris Pine, Josh Charles, Randall Park, Jayma Mays, Lake Bell and Richard Schiff.
Here’s what some of the characters from the 2001 film look like in the 2015 Netflix series, as captured in photos by Saeed Adyani for Netflix. Enjoy!