Mystery Science Theater 3000, abbreviated MST3K, is an American television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. The show premiered on KTMA in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 24, 1988. It later aired on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for another six seasons until its cancellation in 1997. Through a fan-driven write-in campaign, the show was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for another three seasons until its final cancellation in August 1999. The series ran for eleven years, with 197 episodes, and one feature film. The show also spun off The Mystery Science Theater Hour, a sixty-episode syndication package created by dividing selected episodes into halves.