After 7 Seasons and 200 Movies, Joe Bob Briggs Breaks Down The Last Drive-In Process (and Future) [Exclusive]

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“Joe Bob keeps disco hours.”

It’s long after most people have eaten dinner, but for the crew of The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs, the workday is just beginning, near Senoia, Georgia. That’s what one of the team members told me as they grabbed a cupcake. They’re currently filming a special seasonal episode for Shudder and AMC+, and despite the warm weather not matching the episode’s theme, everyone is energized. It’s interesting that they’re filming around the same time fans usually watch the show – it feels intentional.

Briggs explains that he’s naturally a night owl. He started performing in San Francisco in the 1980s, where shows didn’t begin until 9 PM and often lasted until 4 AM, requiring performers to secure their earnings before heading home. He says he’s still accustomed to that late-night rhythm.

Matt Manjourides, who co-created and produces The Last Drive-In with Justin Martell through their company, Not the Funeral Home, explained that filming the show at night simply feels like the natural setting.

Everything just seems to make sense when you’re constantly juggling work and performing, especially when it’s late at night and you’re on your own.

As the show approaches the end of its seventh season – having featured over 200 movies analyzed by Joe Bob – it remains popular, though finding enough suitable films to showcase continues to be a significant hurdle.

You know, it’s funny, but the way they pick movies for The Last Drive-In hasn’t really changed much since the very beginning, according to Manjourides. It’s still pretty much the same process as when it started!

A major challenge is getting the rights to popular, big-budget horror films. These titles are often already available on other streaming platforms, or studios will only offer very short-term licenses – sometimes for just a month.

As a big fan, what I love about ‘The Last Drive-In’ is that it’s not just a one-time thing. You want to be able to come back to those episodes again and again! It’s actually crazy – more people tune in to rewatch old episodes than watch the brand new stuff Shudder releases. That really shows how much people love revisiting those movies with Joe Bob – it’s seriously a rewatchable show!

Each season of The Last Drive-In starts with the team receiving a list of movies—either those already available or ones Shudder/AMC+ can obtain. Then, Tim Manjourides, his partner Justin, director Austin Jennings, and Joe Bob Briggs work together to choose which films will be paired together for each episode.

Manjourides acknowledges that finding good films is becoming harder, but Briggs believes this is a positive thing. He explains that the appeal of The Last Drive-In is its ability to surprise and take viewers somewhere unexpected.

A big reason for choosing movies is that fans enjoy hearing Joe Bob Briggs comment on films they already know. While there’s a lot of speculation about which movies will be shown, it’s Briggs and Diana Prince (Darcy the Mail Girl)’s insightful commentary that keeps viewers tuning in and rewatching. Briggs notes that preparing his commentary and stories about the films has become increasingly complex over time, partly because fans are so attentive and notice everything.

According to Briggs, the internet constantly watches for errors and quickly spreads them once they’re found.

Briggs strongly prefers research sources outside of the internet, starting with his own notes and a collection of books about film, Hollywood, and its people. He gets help from Rob Chipman, who meticulously reviews every extra feature on DVDs of upcoming films, and Tracy Vonder Brink, whom Briggs describes as a talented archivist and writer who gathers all available information about each movie. He also creates detailed scene-by-scene analyses to plan how he’ll discuss the films and when he’ll interject commentary during the show.

Briggs explains it’s a very involved process. They aim to be like the Criterion Collection, but for low-budget horror films.

Don’t mistake it for something enjoyable, or a welcome experience after so many years in journalism – Briggs says it feels more like preparing for a football game.

The practices and preparation for the football game – the film study, the tough two-a-day practices – are incredibly difficult. No one enjoys that part. But now that it’s game time, things are going to be enjoyable.

This Friday marks the premiere of Joe Bob’s Cruel Christmas, the seventh holiday special from The Last Drive-In. Like past specials, it will feature a double feature and a fundraising effort for charity. Fans, known as the “Mutant Family,” will come together to celebrate their favorite movies and spread some holiday joy as the year ends. The event will include an auction with prizes and experiences – last year, items from the set and a movie night with Joe Bob and Darcy fetched $10,000. This year, Joe Bob announced they’ll be supporting five charities through the auction, an increase from the usual four.

I often ask myself, who truly needs help? And this year, that list was incredibly long. Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which have served communities for 70 years, are facing closure. Seeing how many charities are struggling, I realized this has been a particularly difficult year, and that’s where the idea for ‘Cold Cruel Christmas’ came from. I’ll briefly explain the situation at the start of the show, but our main goal is to raise a record amount of money for these charities that are close to shutting down. We’ll do it in a lighthearted way – I don’t want to bring anyone down by focusing on how tough 2025 was.

Following the recent Joe Bob’s Cruel Christmas special, only two more episodes are currently scheduled for Season 7 of The Last Drive-In, with double features planned for January and February. Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mailgirl have been open about the show being evaluated on a season-by-season basis.

“As long as the fans are there, hopefully, we’ll keep going,” Manjourides says.

Even though the future is unpredictable, Briggs is making plans for the next phase of The Last Drive-In. He’s partnering with AFS Cinema in Austin to create a special event called “Satan’s Workshop,” which will serve as a test run for new ideas.

Briggs is experimenting with a new way to choose movies for showing. He invites a small audience to watch two unfamiliar films to gauge their reactions, without revealing the titles beforehand. Based on the audience’s response, he decides which movies will be shown to a larger audience in a live event. It’s like a test run to see what viewers will enjoy.

Manjourides is also excited about several ideas, including a puppet-themed episode they’ve been planning for three years. The challenge isn’t finding scary puppet movies, but figuring out how to actually film it while still maintaining the show’s unique format – Briggs directly addressing the audience about the film.

We noticed a few horror movies use puppets, and thought it would be fun to create puppets of Joe Bob and Darcy to host our show,” explains Manjourides. “The challenge is that fans sometimes react negatively when we try something new with the format.

Manjourides has observed that while negative reactions sometimes happen, they usually come from only about 20% of the audience – but those people make their feelings known. He says the most controversial episode was a night featuring the films Things and Sledgehammer, which about half the audience disliked. Despite this, he’s still considering doing something similar in the future.

It was a real struggle to get that project completed, but I’m eager to do another one. I envision shooting the whole episode on video, maybe even using older, analog techniques. I know some fans might not be happy with that approach, though.

The team behind The Last Drive-In has plenty of other goals beyond experimenting with the show’s format. One major challenge is tracking down the owners of certain films they’d love to screen. Joe Bob Briggs specifically mentioned the Italian slasher film Adam Chaplin, describing it as a more intense version of The Crow, and the cult classic Black Devil Doll from Hell. They’re also eager to host another all-night horror marathon, possibly featuring as many Friday the 13th or Halloween movies as they can. While coordinating such an event presents logistical difficulties, they haven’t given up on the idea.

Originally, The Last Drive-In was intended as a one-time event – a nighttime gathering where Briggs would share some of his favorite films. Its incredible popularity, which actually overloaded Shudder and AMC+’s servers, turned it into the streaming platform’s biggest hit. I asked Briggs what he envisioned for a potential finale, if he had time to plan it. While he didn’t mention any specific movies, he immediately knew what the theme of the final episode would be.

If I were to do one last show, I’d likely focus on celebrating everything we’ve accomplished together, especially the incredible fans who have become such a strong community. They share so much with me, and I’d want to acknowledge that. I’d probably also finally tell all my terrible jokes! But I’m not making any promises, though I know we’d definitely want to celebrate the community that’s grown up around the show.

Let’s hope he doesn’t need to worry about those details anytime soon, because the drive-in movie experience will always be around.

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2025-12-11 22:44