MST3K Episodes Guide: Every Season Explained, KTMA to Gizmoplex

KTMA (21 episodes, 1988 to 1989)

The first run was local television in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The first batch of 13 episodes was extended to 21, and the Wikipedia list also shows an unaired pilot, The Green Slime, as episode 0. Joel Hodgson played Joel, and Trace Beaulieu and Josh Weinstein voiced Crow and Tom Servo. The episodes include a run of Gamera films and end with The "Legend of Dinosaurs".

This is the roughest material in the series, and it is mostly of interest to completists. A viewer new to MST3K does not need it, and the later seasons repeat several of its films, including Gamera, Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gaos and Gamera vs. Guiron.

Seasons 1 and 2: The Comedy Channel (26 episodes, 1989 to 1991)

Season 1 has 13 episodes and began on November 18, 1989, with The Crawling Eye. Jim Mallon makes his first appearance as Gypsy here. Season 2 has 13 episodes and ran into early February 1991, with Frank Conniff and Kevin Murphy joining the cast. The movie list leans on science-fiction and monster films, with Rocketship X-M opening season 2 and Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster closing it.

These two short seasons are the show finding its form. The riffing is slower than in later years and the host segments are simpler. They suit a viewer who wants the origin of the format and is willing to give it time.

Both seasons are short, and they are the cheapest way to see where the format came from. Anyone who wants to compare the early riffing with the faster later style can watch one episode from each and decide how much of the earlier material to see.

Seasons 3 to 7: Comedy Central (102 episodes, 1991 to 1996)

The show moved to Comedy Central on June 1, 1991, and the run from season 3 to season 7 is what most people mean by classic MST3K. Seasons 3, 4, 5 and 6 each have 24 episodes, and season 7 has just six. Season 3 includes Pod People and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, plus Master Ninja I and Master Ninja II. Season 4 includes Manos: The Hands of Fate, the last episode of the season.

Midway through season 5, in 1993, Hodgson left as regular host and Mike Nelson took over, with Pearl Forrester appearing from season 6 on. Season 5 also includes Santa Claus, the 1959 Mexican film. Season 6 brings Red Zone Cuba and The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Season 7 ran for six episodes, with Trace Beaulieu's last episode as Dr. Forrester, and ended on May 18, 1996, when Comedy Central canceled the show. Its last episode was Laserblast. Rough Cut Review would send a first-time viewer to this stretch.

The film (1996)

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie came out on April 19, 1996, with a limited release through Universal and Gramercy. It riffs This Island Earth and sits between seasons 7 and 8 in the show's chronology.

It is the one MST3K feature that went to theaters, and it is a single standalone film, so it can be watched without the series before it.

Seasons 8 to 10: The Sci-Fi Channel (48 episodes, 1997 to 1999)

The show returned on the Sci-Fi Channel on February 1, 1997. Season 8 has 22 episodes, and seasons 9 and 10 have 13 each. Bill Corbett takes over the voice of Crow, and Pearl becomes the lead mad scientist. The film list includes Space Mutiny in season 8, The Final Sacrifice in season 9, and Soultaker and Hamlet in season 10. Hamlet is a German television production.

The series was canceled again in 1999. One of the final episodes, Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders, was released on September 12, 1999, a month after the series finale, according to a note in the Wikipedia list. These seasons are a good second stop for a viewer who liked the Comedy Central years.

Space Mutiny, in season 8, and The Final Sacrifice, in season 9, are the two Sci-Fi years entries picked for the short list near the end of this guide. Those two make a reasonable pair for a viewer who wants one sample from each season.

Seasons 11 and 12: Netflix (20 episodes, 2017 to 2018)

A Kickstarter campaign in 2015 brought MST3K back. Season 11 has 14 episodes and was released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, opening with Reptilicus and including Starcrash, The Land That Time Forgot and At the Earth's Core. Jonah Ray hosts.

Season 12, also called The Gauntlet, has six episodes and arrived on November 22, 2018, with Mac and Me, Atlantic Rim, Lords of the Deep, The Day Time Ended, Killer Fish and Ator, the Fighting Eagle. Netflix did not renew the show for a third season, which was confirmed in November 2019.

Season 13: the Gizmoplex (13 episodes, 2022)

A second Kickstarter, launched in April 2021, funded 13 new episodes, released on the Gizmoplex platform in 2022. Emily Marsh hosts as Emily Connor. The season runs from Santo in the Treasure of Dracula through Robot Wars, Beyond Atlantis, Munchie, Doctor Mordrid and The Batwoman, and ends on The Christmas Dragon.

The season is a good fit for a viewer who wants current episodes and the revival's cast. It follows the same format as the Netflix seasons.

The RiffTrax Experiments (4 episodes, 2026)

Four episodes titled The RiffTrax Experiments were announced in February 2026, with Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett returning. The first, Sting of Death, premiered in theaters on September 9, 2026, and reached RiffTrax on October 9. Deathsport followed on October 22. The third episode is listed for November 6, and the fourth, Space Raiders, for November 20, 2026.

This is the latest MST3K release covered by this guide, and the release schedule runs into November 2026, so the last two episodes are still to come. Wikipedia lists it as season 14.