20 years. That’s the amount of time that elapsed between the first and second seasons of Clone High. An animated parody of then-ubiquitous teen dramas, namely “Dawson’s Creek” and “Party of Five”, starring teenage clones of famous historical figures created by a mad scientist named Cinnamon J. Scudworth (Phil Lord), the show was prematurely canceled after its first season in 2003. After the show saw a resurgence on TikTok in 2020, the show was renewed for a second season by the Max streaming service, which aired in 2022. Though that season was met with a polarized reception, I found myself leaning toward the positive side of the debate. And now, regardless of the season’s actual reception, the third season was released in its entirety on Feb. 4.
The third season of the show, set at the start of a new school year, continues from the conclusion of season three; with Joan of Arc (Nicole Sullivan) socially outcast from the rest of the school after her attempted murder of the entire main cast, she joins the “Bleacher Creatures”, a group of social outcasts with a resentment towards the rest of the student body led by Topher Bus (Neil Casey). A subtle shift occurs between this season and the last; season two ended with Joan attempting to confess her love for Abe Lincoln (Will Forte) after building it up over the course of the season. In direct contrast, this season elects to leave the primary romantic drama of the show completely unaddressed until the last episode of the season.
Instead of focusing on the romance, the show goes through a variety of different single-episode adventures focusing on a menagerie of absurdist scenarios, including a psychopathic science-denying teacher, a scam attempt by the school to be classified as a religious institution, a globally renowned snorkling sport, and an effort for Principal Scudworth to finally achieve his lifelong dream: creating an island amusement park starring the clones of historical figures, called “Cloney Island”.
With this new season comes a stylistic shift:: returning to the witty dialogue-based comedy of the first over the physical slapstick reliance of the second, a development that greatly improved this season for me. Where season two had struggled to recall the first season’s more direct mocking of self-serious teen drama tropes, season three takes it in full stride by continuing to have members of the main cast randomly date one another throughout, with the haphazard romance between Joan and Confucius (Kelvin Yu) in the second half of the season being a particular comedic favorite of mine.
Now, no new season of Clone High would be truly authentic without its bumps. In this case, while several new main characters like Frida Kahlo (Vicci Martinez) and Confucius finally found their proper footing, some others, most notably Harriet Tubman (Ayo Edebiri), continue to struggle as series leads. While the series has become more reliant on a variety of celebrity guest stars, including the likes of Paul F. Tompkins and Randall Park, the main cast, particularly the new characters that had been introduced in the second season, remain somewhat flimsy.
Of course, in classic teen drama format, the season ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger. With a rocket about to destroy Cloney Island, Joan is forced to choose between Abe and Confucius, at which point the season conveniently ends. Like most solid teen dramas, it left me chomping at the bit for more, and a final resolution for this relationship drama-heavy show. Even with its struggles and missteps, season three has proven itself to be a tremendous step in the right direction for the show as a whole.While this season may have had its tough moments, I think it’s undeniable that Clone High has finally figured itself out.
