It's been a good, long while since we've gotten any news about Pixar's new Monsters, Inc. TV show coming to Disney+, Monsters at Work. In fact, it's been so long that the last time we here at Collider reported on the new show, the year was 2019. At the time, we shared the fun Monsters at Work logo with you and noted the expected release date would be some time in 2020. But, alas, 2020 has come and gone with no new Monsters at Work show in sight.
Lucky for us, we got a chance to ask about Monsters at Work when Collider's own Steve Weintraub sat down with one of the show's stars, Billy Crystal, for a video interview. While the interview focused on Crystal's entire career including his recent feature Standing Up, Falling Down, the screen legend made time to update us on Monsters at Work. When we kicked off the discussion, Crystal made sure to confirm Monsters at Work is indeed a series of episodes, that he and John Goodman will be back as monster besties Mike and Sulley, and confirmed when the show's story is set.
"It's a series. John Goodman and I are Sully and Mike. The show, time-wise, starts six months after 'Monsters, Inc.' ended. So now, we're on the Laugh Floor. We've created all of the new, young, great characters with some great voice actors, and John and I are reprising our parts. I tell ya, it's [been] 20 years [since the release of 'Monsters, Inc.'] and that movie looked amazing 20 years ago. It's coming up to the 20th anniversary, I believe in September [Editor's note: 'Monsters, Inc.' will celebrate its 20th anniversary in November]. It's fantastic looking, it's hilarious, and we're having a lot of fun doing it."
In addition to Crystal and Goodman, the cast of Monsters at Work will include Ben Feldman, Kelly Marie Tran, Alanna Ubach, Jennifer Tilly, John Ratzenberger, Bob Peterson. The show, which comes from creator and executive producer Roberts Gannaway, will follow young monster Tylor Tuskmon (Feldman), an eager and talented young mechanic on the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team (MIFT). Tyler dreams of working his way up to the factory Laugh Floor to become a jokester alongside his idols, Mike and Sulley.
Crystal went on to share some new information regarding how far along in the recording process the Monsters at Work cast is for Season 1. He revealed,
"Yeah, we've done a bunch [of episodes]. We've been on a break because of the pandemic. But some I was able to do at home and some I was able to do in a very deserted studio out in Burbank. To be the only one on the lot was a little weird. But yeah, we're progressing. I don't know when they're gonna start [being released] but I promise you they're really good."
And, because we're simply too excited about Monsters at Work and want to know as much as possible, we had to ask Crystal how long the episodes would be. Crystal replied to the best of his knowledge, telling Collider, "Some are full length. Some are half-hour. It's hard to tell when you're just reading. But they're full scripts and it's a continuing story, so I think it's really gonna be fun."
Monsters at Work is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2021. For more, check out our picks for the best movies and best TV shows on Disney+ that you can stream right now.