‘Clone High’ Reboot: Gandhi’s Absence Explained — Why He’s Left Frozen

Nearly exactly two decades after being frozen in a meat locker, the students of Clone High are finally thawing out for a pinch-us-we’re-dreaming Max revival. Well, almost all of the students.

As revealed in the first of two episodes now available to stream, the hard-partying, impossibly horny clone of Mahatma Gandhi (voiced by Mad TV‘s Michael McDonald) will remain in the freezer for the foreseeable future. Fans will surely miss the presence of Abe Lincoln’s beloved sidekick, but the decision to exclude him from the revival was a no-brainer for Clone High‘s creators.

“The reason the show was canceled in the first place was because of Gandhi, so we didn’t want to have it canceled again before it even started,” Phil Lord tells TVLine, to which Chris Miller adds, “We’re stupid, but not that stupid.”

Looking back on Gandhi’s controversial portrayal in the original series, which lasted for one season in early 2003, the duo’s consensus is: “We were always trying to push the boundaries and find the line of what you can satirize — and we found it.”

Still, Lord and Miller are taking a wait-and-see approach to the character, admitting to leaving Gandhi frozen because they were “indecisive” about how to handle him. “You don’t want to kill him or something, then have it just be over,” Lord says. “He’s still there, able to thaw out if there’s a Season 4.” (The two 10-episode seasons ordered at Max bring the show to three so far.)

The revival attempts to scratch that very specific Gandhi itch by dividing his duties between a pair of new characters — the clones of Chinese philosopher Confucius and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

“They take care of a lot of the things that Gandhi would do,” Miller says. “But they’re also their own unique characters. Frida is much cooler than Gandhi ever was. She has a similar energy but, but it’s effortless, whereas Gandhi is trying too hard at all times. Vicky Martinez, who voices her, is just effortlessly interesting and cool and funny.”

We’ll have more of the creators’ insight on the revival’s changes later this week, but for now — are you enjoying your return to Clone High? Grade it in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the first two episodes.