Remember that alien that crash-landed on our planet back in the 80s, then took up with an Earth family, and spent his time looking for his strange food indulgences and hiding from the US government?

No, not E.T. This about ALF, the other fictional puppet-based life-form that had a cult following. And ALF is back, thanks to SHOUT Factory, which has acquired all the distribution rights to show, including all episodes of the NBC sitcom and the animated series it spawned, among other properties.

The company, in partnership with Alien Productions, will bring those ALF titles to digital entertainment platforms in the United States. Lionsgate, which previously owned the rights, had brokered a deal for the sitcom to stream on Fox’s ad-supported service Tubi but that agreement ended last fall.

Deadline reported Thursday that the deal was announced by Shout! founders and CEOs Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; Alien Productions partners Paul Fusco and Brian Patchett. 

The sitcom centered on Gordon Shumway, a furry, wise-cracking alien from the planet Melmac who crash lands into the garage of the Tanner family. The Tanners adopt him, giving him the nickname ALF, short for “Alien Life Form.” The show was created by Tom Patchett, whose credits include The Carol Burnett Show) and Paul Fusco, who was also the puppeteer and voice of ALF.

The multi-year deal gives exclusive US rights to Shout! Factory and its multi-platform streaming service, Shout! Factory TV, encompassing all digital, broadcast and home entertainment packaged media. This includes all 102 episodes of the live-action series, 26 episodes of ALF: The Animated Series, 21 episodes of the animated ALF Tales, and the TV movie Project: ALF, which ABC developed to resolve a cliffhanger that was left after NBC abruptly cancelled the show. The library rights include home entertainment and digital distribution in North America.

Patchett and Fusco called Shout! Factory “the home-away-from-Melmac that ALF has been looking for. We’re looking forward to bringing you ALF in a totally new way — with new content, unseen art, and restored footage not seen in 30 years. This is the moment ALF fans have been waiting for.”

The business plan is modeled on Shout’s experience working with properties like Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Johnny Carson Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. “This will not only give existing fans an opportunity to reengage with the show, but also appeal to new viewers who missed the show’s initial run on broadcast television,” according to Gene Pao, Shout’s EVP of strategy and digital properties.

This also means that new content could be on the horizon. Shout is planning for new ALF-related content and launch digital media initiatives and domestic syndication in streaming, electronic sell-through and video on demand. A planned ALF reboot was scrapped by Warner Bros. in 2018, but the character has made appearances on other numerous other shows since its inception, and has appeared in videogames, a Marvel comic book series, and was popular as a toy.