MTV Animation is an American animation studio and the animation department of the television network MTV. The department's parent company is Paramount Television Studios, which is owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation. MTV Animation gained substantial popularity in the 1990s, with many of their largest successes including the original broadcasts of Liquid Television (1991–1995), Beavis and Butt-Head (1993–1997), Daria (1997–2002), and Celebrity Deathmatch (1998–2007). Of the animated shows that aired, Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria became the studio's most successful programs, with both shows developing a cult following.
Reruns of MTV's completed animated shows aired on MTV2 and The N throughout much of the 2000s. There were some attempts by MTV Entertainment Group to revive original animation production in the 2010s, but they never materialized.
History In 1991, MTV debuted its first full-length animated series, Liquid Television, which helped launch Beavis and Butt-Head and Æon Flux. MTV established its own in-house animation studio in 1993 to work on Beavis and Butt-Head and other projects. While MTV's animation department is often grouped with Nickelodeon's (as both channels were part of MTV Networks), the two entities are mostly separate. MTV's cartoons are known for their dark humor, adult jokes, graphic violence, pop culture references, and irreverence.
In an interview for the Beavis and Butt-Head Do America DVD, Mike Judge described MTV Animation as being very ad hoc: Beavis and Butt-Head didn't have an art director until the film was made, so until the film they'd never considered color palettes from scene to scene. In the same interview, art director Yvette Kaplan said "everything was overlapping... we never had the luxury of one part [episode] finished" before another episode was finished.Beavis and Butt-head Do America DVD (2006 version): Making Of feature
As Beavis and Butt-Head was wrapping up production, MTV was looking to create an animated show that catered more to girls and a more intelligent audience. Comedy writer Glenn Eichler and producer Susie Lewis Lynn had both previously worked on Beavis and Butt-Head and were tasked with co-creating a spin-off. The result was the animated series Daria (1997–2002), which centered around the character Daria Morgendorffer. Daria ended up being one of MTV Animation's biggest successes, with MTV airing 65 episodes of the series across five seasons from March 1997 to June 2001. Daria also included the full-length television movies Is It Fall Yet? and Is It College Yet?, which aired on MTV in August 2000 and January 2002, respectively. The DVD set Daria: The Complete Animated Series was released in May 2010, containing all 65 episodes, both movies, and a multitude of extras—including a script to an unaired Mystik Spiral pilot episode written by Eichler. However, much of the licensed music on the DVD release was taken out due to licensing costs. Eichler planned on writing and producing a spin-off series that centered around Daria character Trent Lane and his band, Mystik Spiral. However, the halting of animation production at MTV in 2002 prevented the spin-off from materializing.
Many MTV animation productions do not survive a single season and in some cases are canceled before completion. Productions including Undergrads, Downtown, Station Zero, 3-South, and Clone High have been highly acclaimed, yet none of them got renewed beyond their first season, usually due to lack of an audience or advertising. By 2001, the animation department was shut down, with the network's animated series now being outsourced to different studios. During the 2000s, MTV would phase out of producing original animation in favor of importing shows, usually reruns of shows from sister networks Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. The MTV Animation brand was briefly revived from 2006 to 2007 as part of a push to produce animated series for MTV2.
In 2011, MTV would return to adult animation. Its first production was a relaunch of Beavis and Butt-Head, which premiered in October 2011; this was quickly followed by Good Vibes, starting later in the same month. In November 2011, MTV said they plan a third cartoon, Worst Friends Forever by Thomas Middleditch, that Mike Judge would produce, about three teenage girls who hover on the outskirts of popularity and have to cope with cattiness and crushes; a pilot had been picked up and concept art of the characters was released.TV Guide: "Exclusive: MTV Developing Another Animated Series with Beavis and Butt-head Producers" The cartoons did not do as expected though. Good Vibes was cancelled in February 2012 due to low ratings, on the same day the DVD came out,Deadline: Animated Comedy ‘Good Vibes’ Cancelled By MTV After One Season Beavis and Butt-Head was cancelled in December 2011, and Worst Friends Forever never aired. In a September 2012 interview on "Making It With Riki Lindhome", Middleditch said Worst Friends was "for all intents and purposes done" and "not in my hands anymore".Making It #61: Thomas Middleditch , 58:25 to 59:09 Mike Judge said in January 2014 that he might pitch Beavis and Butt-Head to another network.
Current animation In August 2020, ViacomCBS's Entertainment & Youth Group launched a new strategy to expand its adult animation units. This initiative planned to produce various animated shows under the revitalized MTV Entertainment Group. Beavis and Butt-Head was rebooted, a planned Daria spinoff became a cancelled film and had been announced for Comedy Central and Paramount+. An animated sequel revival series of Everybody Hates Chris titled Everybody Still Hates Chris premiered on September 25, 2024. It also produced the Clone High revival seasons on at Max (now HBO Max) premiered on May 23, 2023, at the relaunch of the platform.
Productions Television series Title Creator/Developer(s) Premiere date Finale date Co-production with Network Note(s) MTV Animation 1990s Beavis and Butt-Head Mike Judge March 8, 1993;October 27, 2011 November 28, 1997;December 29, 2011 3 Arts EntertainmentJudgmental FilmsInbred Jed's Homemade Cartoons (Pilot)J. J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. (1993)MTV Production Development (2011) MTV Spun-off from Liquid Television.Created by Mike Judge, creator of King of the Hill. The Head Eric Fogel December 19, 1994 March 1, 1996 Fogelmania Productions The Maxx Original character:Sam KiethSeries:Sam KiethBill Messner-Loebs April 8, 1995 June 19, 1995 Image ComicsIDW Publishing Based on the comic book series of the same name. Æon Flux Peter Chung August 8, 1995 October 10, 1995 Colossal PicturesMook AnimationLuk Film Spun-off from Liquid Television. Daria Glenn EichlerSusie Lewis March 3, 1997 June 25, 2001 Heyday Media Spun-off from Beavis and Butt-Head. Cartoon Sushi Danny AntonucciKeith AlcornEric Calderon October 17, 1997 June 23, 1998 A.k.a. CartoonDNA Productions Celebrity Deathmatch Eric FogelGordon Barnett May 14, 1998;June 10, 2006 October 20, 2002;March 30, 2007 Fogelmania ProductionsThe Comedy Company (2006–2007)Cuppa Coffee Studios (2006–2007) MTV (1998–2002)MTV2 (2006–2007) Station Zero Tramp Daly March 8, 1999 April 6, 1999 Possible WorldsC-Traze StudiosUpfront Entertainment MTV First MTV weekday cartoon Phred on Your Head Show Amy Friedman July 26, 1999 March 31, 2002 Noggin LLCTricky PicturesPossible Worlds Noggin Animated for MTV's sister channel, Noggin. Downtown Chris Prynoski August 3, 1999 November 8, 1999 MTV 2000s Shrimpton O'Small 2000 N/A Unaired pilot for Nickelodeon The URL with Phred Show Amy Friedman September 10, 2001 March 31, 2002 Noggin Animated for MTV's sister channel, Noggin. Spy Groove Michael GansRichard RegisterKevin Thomsen June 26, 2000 July 13, 2002 MTV Fish 'N' Clips September 29, 2000 VH1 Pilot Undergrads Pete WilliamsJosh A. Cagan April 1, 2001 August 12, 2001 Decode EntertainmentFunbag Animation TeletoonMTV First MTV cartoon co-produced with Teletoon. 3-South Mark HentemannSteve Callaghan November 7, 2002 January 3, 2003 Hentemann FilmsWarner Bros. Television Animation MTV Where My Dogs At? Aaron Matthew LeeJeff Ross June 10, 2006 July 29, 2006 Enough With The Bread Already Productions6 Point HarnessBardel Entertainment MTV2 The Adventures of Chico and Guapo Orlando JonesP. J. PescePaul D'Acri July 29, 2006 MTV Remote ProductionsOne Red Room Friday: The Animated Series Ice CubeJay Dyer June 24, 2007 July 8, 2007 New Line TelevisionCube Vision Adapted from the Friday film series. MTV Entertainment Studios 2020s South Park Trey ParkerMatt Stone September 30, 2020 present South Park Studios Comedy Partners Comedy Central Originally started in 1997. Fairview Stephen ColbertR.J. Fried March 9, 2022 March 30, 2022 Spartina ProductionsLicht Media SolutionsRJ Fried WorldwideLate Night Cartoons, Inc.CBS Studios Beavis and Butt-Head Mike Judge August 4, 2022 present Judgmental Films3 Arts Entertainment Titmouse, Inc. Paramount+ (2022–2023)Comedy Central (2025–present) Clone High Phil Lord and Christopher MillerBill Lawrence May 23, 2023 February 1, 2024 DoozerLord Miller ProductionsShadowMachine Max
Other MTV animated series Title Creator/Developer(s) Premiere date Finale date Co-production with Network Note(s) 1980s Stevie and Zoya Joe Horne 1987 1989 MTV 1990s Liquid Television Japhet Asher June 2, 1991May 15, 2014 March 6, 1994June 12, 2014 Original series:(Colossal) PicturesBIG PicturesNoyes & Laybourne EnterprisesBBC EnterprisesRevival series:Titmouse, Inc. MTV Revived for the internet in 2014. The Brothers Grunt Danny AntonucciDennis Heaton August 15, 1994 April 9, 1995 a.k.a. Cartoon Created by Danny Antonucci, creator of Ed, Edd n Eddy.First MTV cartoon to feature a theme song vocalist. 2000s Clone High Phil Lord and Christopher MillerBill Lawrence November 2, 2002 April 13, 2003 DoozerLord Miller ProductionsTouchstone Television (season 1)Nelvana (season 1)MTV Entertainment StudiosShadowMachine (seasons 2–3) MTVTeletoon Second MTV cartoon co-produced with Teletoon. Video Mods Tony Shiff September 16, 2004 July 22, 2005 Big Bear EntertainmentIBC Entertainment MTV2 First animated show for MTV2 Wonder Showzen Vernon ChatmanJohn Lee March 11, 2005 May 19, 2006 USA Cable Entertainment (season 1)Augenblick Studios (animated segments)PFFR Productions DJ & the Fro Dave JeserMatt Silverstein June 15, 2009 July 2, 2009 Titmouse, Inc.Double Hemm MTV Production Development MTV Second MTV weekday cartoon Popzilla R.J. FriedTim HedrickJared MillerKevin PedersenDave Thomas September 27, 2009 October 16, 2009 Animax EntertainmentMTV Production Development 2010s Good Vibes David Gordon GreenBrad AblesonMike Clements October 27, 2011 December 29, 2011 Werner EntertainmentRough House PicturesNot the QB Pro.Six Point HarnessGood Humor TelevisionWarner Horizon TelevisionMTV Production Development MTV Greatest Party Story Ever January 14, 2016 December 22, 2016 Four Peaks Media GroupDen of ThievesShadowMachine
Theatrical films Title Director Release date Distributor Co-production with Note(s) Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Mike Judge December 20, 1996 Paramount Pictures Geffen PicturesJudgemental Films MTV's first and, so far, only theatrically released animated feature to date.
Streaming service original films Title Director Release date Distributor Co-production with Note(s) South Park: Post CovidTrey Parker November 25, 2021 Paramount+ South Park Studios South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid December 16, 2021 South Park: The Streaming Wars June 1, 2022 Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe John RiceAlbert Calleros June 23, 2022 Judgemental FilmsTitmouse, Inc.3 Arts Entertainment Sequel to Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. South Park: The Streaming Wars Part 2Trey Parker July 13, 2022 South Park Studios South Park: Joining the Panderverse October 27, 2023 South Park (Not Suitable for Children) December 20, 2023 South Park: The End of Obesity May 24, 2024
Television films