America's "first and foremost Drive-In Movie Critic," television personality, writer and horror aficionado Joe Bob Briggs (John Bloom) and co-host/horror queen, Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince), have just wrapped their second official annual Joe Bob's Jamboree celebration in Memphis, Tennessee. The duo hosted a three-day celebration, including a fan convention held all three days with meet-and-greets, and a tour of Graceland, to end their fourth season of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on the genre streaming service Shudder. Fortunately, CBR confirmed The Last Drive-In has been renewed for a fifth season, though the premiere date is yet to be released, as well as more themed holiday episodes. The drive-in never dies! Cue the harmonica intro.
After the success of the first-ever Joe Bob's Jamboree in 2021, which took place over four days at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Briggs and co. moved the horror festival to the iconic Memphis, Tennessee for the second annual Jamboree. Beginning on July 8 and running through July 10, Briggs invited his fans - affectionately dubbed the Mutant Fam - to join him at the Malco Summer Drive-In for a live and in-person celebration to finish out his fourth season on Shudder's The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. According to Tennessee newspaper Commercial Appeal, Briggs described the event as "three days of ridiculous orgiastic nerdy fun," that included a fan convention at the Hilton Memphis featuring celebrities like Chopping Mall's Kelli Maroney, Sleepaway Camp's Felissa Rose and Scary Movie's Dave Sheridan.
Each night, after the conventions wrapped up, Briggs hosted a movie night at the Malco Drive-In, occupying each of the four screens. On the first night, they showed a film fans have been requesting for some time, if only to heckle the horror host for his long-time opposition to it, Halloween III, with cast and crew present to answer any burning questions. The following night was held in traditional Last Drive-In fashion with two back-to-back cult films, Rock 'n' High School and Bubba Ho-Tep, starring Bruce Campbell as an aging Elvis Presley (appropriate, considering the recent success of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis), and Sunday was dedicated to indie filmmakers and screened two submissions chosen by Briggs, with each night featuring specially chosen live musical performances.
Clad in pearl-snap button-ups and bolo ties, the enigma that is Joe Bob Briggs celebrates the vile, the unusual and the offensive in horror past, present and future. Perpetually gripping a can of beer, Briggs rattles off on surprisingly informative tandems on anything from social commentary to the minutia of forgotten horror flicks each Friday evening between the double features of the night. From Shudder originals like 2021's Hellbender to classics like Dario Argento's Tenebrae, The Last Drive-In provides a night of entertainment for self-proclaimed weirdos, and occasionally hosts guests like director Eli Roth or Blumhouse producer Jason Blum. The focus on the community of niche fans and providing them with horror material they may never have been privy to, as well as being a wealth of veritable grindhouse and mainstream horror knowledge, makes Briggs and Darcy a Shudder staple.
The proclaimed Mutant Family oath that embodies the essence of The Last Drive-In is as follows:
"We are drive-in mutants. We are not like other people. We are sick! We are disgusting. If life had a vomit-meter we'd be off the scale. We believe in blood, in breasts and in beasts. We believe in Kung-Fu City. As long as one drive-in remains on the planet earth, we will party like jungle animals, we will boogie 'til we puke. Heads will roll. The drive-in will never die. Amen."
No release date for The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs has been announced yet, but past seasons are now streaming on Shudder. "Joe Bob says, 'Check it out.'"