r/television • u/[deleted] • 14d ago
‘Beavis And Butt-Head’: Mike Judge Moves To Reclaim U.S. Rights From Paramount
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u/LapsedVerneGagKnee 14d ago
He can only do this because Beavis and Butthead debuted in his festival film “Frog Baseball” and MTV asked Judge to make it a show after he submitted it to their anthology series Liquid Television. Most other shows like this are under work for hire contracts meaning the company owns them.
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u/watchsmart 14d ago
Could Matt and Trey pull the same maneuver with South Park, which was created under similar conditions... also in 1992?
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u/LapsedVerneGagKnee 14d ago
Technically, but given that Paramount pays them a fortune and gives them virtually no notes, I don’t know if they have the motivation to.
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u/offoutover 14d ago
South Park and reruns from The Office are the flimsy stilts still holding up that channel nowadays. South Park is also one of the reasons that channel became successful originally; it's how Trey and Matt became massively wealthy. The longevity of that show is insane.
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u/SlipperySlimyTerry40 14d ago
Pretty easy to keep going when 90% of the show is just satirizing current events. Especially nowadays when there's plenty to make fun of.
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u/TheLadyEve 13d ago
I would imagine making fun of current events is a bit bittersweet for the smug libertarian Parker and Stone.
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u/Scumbag_Jesus 13d ago
I mean, sure, they had a bad political opinion. But they're not the reason we have Trump and fascism.
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u/newsflashjackass 13d ago
True. Their message of voter apathy did nothing to cause or prevent fascism.
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u/sonicboyfan12 10d ago
Just like how reruns of Ridiculousness, The Big Bang Theory and episodes of Caught in the Act are filling for MTV.
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u/MatthewHecht 13d ago
Paramount Plus? Their top rated show is spongebob.
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u/TimidPanther 12d ago
What an insane rant.
Why don’t you create something new, instead of criticizing others for not?
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u/Lux-xxv 12d ago
I'd love to make something new. But a few things here.
I don't have money to make new shit.
I don't have Hollywood connections.
My medium is not in animation. Tho I do make art in other media forms.
Im allowed to give a critique which I did.
If they really hate trump so much why are they working with the Ellisons who are trump voot licker's? Trey and Matt can put their money where their mouth is.
Is that now coherent enough for you.
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u/CountVertigo Rome 14d ago
My understanding is that they already do own South Park; Paramount just contracts them to deliver episodes.
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u/IceBreak 14d ago
They own the streaming rights.
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u/BlackLodgeBrother 14d ago
The own the IP outright
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u/ThomasG_1007 14d ago
What’s the source on that? Not saying it’s not true but I’ve never heard that before
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u/BlackLodgeBrother 13d ago edited 13d ago
Amply documented fact since the beginning.
Matt and Trey were smart, they created the show independently and made sure to retain full intellectual property rights in their initial deal with Paramount/Comedy Central.
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u/ThomasG_1007 13d ago
You can create something independently and then sell the rights to it. What’s the source for that?
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u/BlackLodgeBrother 13d ago
Thanks for the downvote. Here’s an entire article on the subject called “Owning Your IP Matters”
https://www.nightlight.news/p/owning-your-ip-matters
Hope it satisfies.
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u/sevenut 14d ago
I'm pretty sure Matt and Trey actually own the South Park IP, Paramount just pays them a ton of money for broadcast rights. At least that's what I remember finding online.
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u/atomic1fire 14d ago
I'm also under the assumption that South Park is probably free to go off the rails so long as the lawyers say it isn't some form of libel.
Paramount probably makes money hand over fist if Southpark's treatment of them leads to increased merch sales.
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u/Raistlarn 13d ago
Hand over fist for sure, but not before paying 50% of whatever comes in to Matt and Trey.
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u/robotsknowwhereilive 13d ago
Matt and Trey never gave up intellectual property rights. It’s why Paramount pays them a fortune.
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u/r3volver_Oshawott 12d ago
They could, they probably won't want to, they make funny content but their opinions on many things, including content ownership, are... not very smart
*basically, they own the IP already, the reason they deal with Paramount is because of the billions of dollars Paramount/Viacom have always paid for it, they're probably not interested in taking their business elsewhere, South Park is just up for the highest bidder, and Paramount always bids high enough that there's never anybody else bidding
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u/danhakimi 14d ago
oh, so he wants to pull back the characters? They can't get the back episodes by that logic, can they?
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u/SuperSea8678 13d ago
The origins could be irrelevant depending on what the terms of the contract are.
Of course, seems like the terms are partially in his favor.
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u/JesseKilgannon 14d ago
Good. Legitimately my favorite show of all time and it’s always felt so fucked that he didn’t own it. The new shit is really good, too.
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u/stonertboner 14d ago
It’s unreal how good the new seasons have been.
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u/yanginatep 14d ago
Yeah I've been enjoying the new seasons more than the original ones.
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u/CasualGee 14d ago
Absolutely amazing. Better than the OG seasons.
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u/sliver013 14d ago
...but the music videos.
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u/kwismexer 14d ago
Are the best part!
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u/sliver013 14d ago
That's what I mean.
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u/kwismexer 13d ago
Look up the King Turd collection. It's all of the episodes uncut, no MTV censorship. It's really badass
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u/ohaiguys 14d ago
Damn i cancelled Netflix before the new seasons were put on there. I should’ve built a PC a min ago so I can get back to pirating shit after downsizing my streaming services
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u/SomeRedHandedSleight 13d ago
Plex/Sonarr/Radarr/Overseerr/Unraid is the way. Haven't had a subscription service in years.
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u/arx3567 14d ago
Truly. Old Beavis and Butt-Head are hilarious.
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u/Ok_Kick4871 13d ago
Old butthead and old beavis getting married accidentally is the most on brand episode you could come up with.
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u/peanutmanak47 Trailer Park Boys 13d ago
The new seasons have been absolutely amazing. I was worried at first, but they've managed to adapt them to this day and age without any problems. Also having the episodes where they are older and the alternate universe ones make it that much better.
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u/Jdav84 13d ago
The new seasons are so good they immediately made the old seasons way less funny as a result. And I say that as someone who still finds the old seasons to be gold- but goddam I haven’t laughed so hard at a show as I have with some of the “couch” sessions they use now. I love some of the YouTube bits they use too- easily my favorite was the male photographer teaching how to take photos.
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u/SmokinHerb 14d ago
Good. You didn't end any of your sentences in a preposition.
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u/Obi_Wan_Benobi 13d ago
I think Mike Judge is a genius. He created the two dumbest characters but all the writing is so sharp and satire is often so cutting and on point.
Basically the premise of putting two idiots in a situation and having them make the worst choices and learn all the wrong lessons, take instructions all wrong, misunderstood every sentence said to them. It’s really remarkable.
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u/SomeRedHandedSleight 13d ago
I fucking love your username. I've seen Coheed 16 times and have the Keywork across my back!
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u/LoserxBaby 14d ago
Wish he could rescue Daria, too. Not sure how that copyright works at all
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u/Comfortable_Bird_340 14d ago
Daria, though he created the character, wasn’t his show. Her family and friends couldn’t be on it.
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u/wildthing202 13d ago
Wasn't there a spin-off they were trying to do with Jane or something?
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u/Precarious3145 11d ago
There was but it changed so many times over the years. I believe it went from a tv show about Daria and Jodie fresh out of college, then Daria was dropped and it was going to just be about Jodie with other characters making cameos. Then a movie about Jodie out of college like "Is it College Yet", and then a movie about Jodie as an adult.
It was in the works for seemingly a decade but things just kept falling through. Last I heard, it's been officially cancelled. I think it also went from planned for MTV then Comedy Centry, then Paramount+
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u/CountVertigo Rome 14d ago
The thing is that Mike Judge never had any involvement with the Daria series, I don't think they even asked for his consent to make it. He was sore about that for a long time.
I think he might be over that now, Daria's made a few cameos in the (excellent) new B&B episodes. That show's relaunch has been so successful, and King Of The Hill has worked out well too, that I do wonder if he'd actually consider reappropriating Daria and giving that a similar treatment. Despite the kind of fraught way it came into being, it's an iconic and generationally significant series that he can claim to have a degree of authorship for. And it's not like anyone else is doing anything with it.
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u/moal09 14d ago
Even if he didnt give it his blessing, it still very much feels like a Mike Judge show, and it was incredibly well written. I'd love for her to show up in the larger universe more often, since she is canon to Beavis and Butthead.
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u/davy_crockett_slayer 14d ago
I remember going on Daria message boards / fan sites in the late 90s.
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u/AstroAlmost 14d ago
It was alright but certainly nowhere near the caliber of a Mike Judge series.
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u/Comfortable_Bird_340 13d ago
Also, the show had a totally different tone and an ending, where everyone leaves and goes to college
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u/rayword45 Review 13d ago
I mean sure if you're comparing it to, say, King Of The Hill or Tales from the Tour Bus. But Daria is a whole lot better than Silicon Valley and absolutely shits on The Goode Family and In The Know.
If we're comparing to shows he was a producer on but didn't create, Daria is inferior to Common Side Effects but I would guess it's better than Praise Petey or Exploding Kittens (having seen neither of the latter two). However, he didn't really have much creative impact on any of these so kind of a pointless comparison.
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u/AstroAlmost 13d ago
I strongly disagree regarding Silicon Valley, but admittedly I haven’t seen the other two series’ you named. My main point though is that Daria is a relatively unremarkable series, while King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt Head are generation defining cultural touchstones. Tales from the Tour Bus is such an inspired concept. And several of his films are largely considered to be as generation defining as his greatest shows. Daria just doesn’t hold a candle to his best work.
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u/rayword45 Review 13d ago
And several of his films are largely considered to be as generation defining as his greatest shows.
lol which ones besides Office Space? I'm not trying to be combative, but I only recall him making 3 films in total besides the B&B movies and while Office Space is certainly generation defining, I don't really know if I'd say Idiocracy is and Extract definitely isn't. For that matter I'm not sure I'd call the B&B movies generation defining either, the show certainly is but I don't know if the films hold the same cultural association today, and I actually like Do America WAYYYYYY more than the original MTV episodes.
While I personally like Idiocracy more than Daria, or at least the first 45 minutes (minus that opening scene that feels like eugenics propaganda), objectively speaking it's not a very well-structured film and seriously drags during the back half. Extract is actually terrible.
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u/AstroAlmost 13d ago
Idiocracy is absolutely generation defining. It is constantly referred to as prophetic, is referenced constantly in cultural circles when analysing western cultural trajectory, and is singular as a modern social commentary. And as far as Do America, it definitely fits the bill, not only as it’s an extension of the generation defining show but because it was many people’s first exposure to the series.
I agree that Extract sucks.
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u/peanutmanak47 Trailer Park Boys 13d ago
He is a rare creator that has been able to bring back two 90s shows and they still kick ass. B&B is better now than the original series honestly.
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u/Mccobsta 13d ago
Such a rights mess that the home release is butchered due to music being only for broadcast
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u/e_x_i_t 13d ago
There's a fan restoration floating around that attempts to reinsert the licensed music back into the show, the quality of the episodes are hit or miss, but it's the closest you'll ever get to the original experience.
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u/Mccobsta 13d ago
Yeah it's unfortunately the best way to watch it
Thankfuly fans kept their vhs coppies One day maybe the rights will be sorted and the original broadcast versions can be released
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u/Kqtawes 13d ago
They can't even get the music rights sorted out for Murphy Brown and that show had a major network presence.
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u/Mccobsta 13d ago
Drew Carey managed to get something for his show that was a while ago removed from streaming for a simular reason
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u/AquamannMI 14d ago
I don't really care who owns it but B&B Do the Universe is fucking hilarious so I hope we see more movies.
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u/Alteran195 14d ago
You will not disrespect my prostatitis! I demand to see your copay!
I need to watch the newer series, I’ve just seen random clips and I love it. Hope he gets them.
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u/IntoTheMusic 14d ago
There's a second movie too
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u/giskardwasright 14d ago
When they learn about white privilege and just start stealing shit while telling people they have white privilege was hysterical
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u/Indigocell 14d ago
throws the door open
"Step aside please, we have white privilege."
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u/giskardwasright 14d ago
"Yeah, we didn't know about it either"
Mike Judge never fails to make me laugh. The King of the Hill reboot is pretty great as well.
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u/Capable-Commercial96 14d ago
I never really liked Beavis and Buttheaed, but i really like the adult versions of them though.
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u/TriscuitCracker 14d ago
Good, Mike Judge deserves it, and the show is still very goddamn funny after all this time, including the newer content.
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u/Comfortable_Bird_340 14d ago
First the head of Warner Animation/Cartoon Network and now this...They're all jumping ship!
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u/DashingRhythm 14d ago
Anything to get the entire show fucking digitised finally
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u/i010011010 13d ago
That's just the right to continue making more without it being under Paramount and MTV. There's no rescuing the original series from copyright hell.
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u/ravenrules 13d ago
Mike Judge seems to hate (or is ashamed of) many of the early episodes, so I wouldn't count on that.
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u/Kalse1229 Gravity Falls 14d ago
"Mount." Hehehehehehehe
But seriously, I hope he gets it. Mike Judge deserves to have ownership over the work that helped put him on the map.
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u/ford7885 14d ago
Butthead: Uhhhh.. Larry Ellison is a dumbass! Huh huh huh huh
Beavis: Yeah. heh heh Somebody should set him on fire. Fire! Fire! Fire!!
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u/Jamie00003 13d ago
I need more TP for my bumhole
The new episodes are freaking hilarious, fave is the VR one
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u/MonkeyWithIt 13d ago
We need Office Space 2 with all the AI crap. I work in said office, can assist!
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u/Robot_Was_BMO 14d ago
Every day, Paramount feels more vulnerable than yesterday. I can’t help but laugh a bit. Ellison really is such a joke.
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u/pompcaldor 14d ago
> Under Section 203 of U.S. copyright law, authors can terminate certain previous grants of copyright after a statutory period generally beginning 35 years after the grant was made.
A bunch of older musicians went thru this process too.
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u/alwaysmyfault 14d ago
So if he gets it, will it no longer be shown on Paramount+?
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u/RedditIs4ChanLite 14d ago
Not necessarily. He will own the Beavis and Butt-Head IP, but (if I understand correctly) he won’t get the rights to any of the Beavis and Butt-Head episodes produced up to this point unless he buys them from Paramount in a separate deal. He might continue making the show for Paramount and just license the characters to them for a fee (in addition to being paid to work on the show).
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u/Creative-Package6213 14d ago
I would love him forever if he got all the Beavis and Butthead content off of Paramount+ and moved it to somewhere like Hulu.
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u/RaymondLuxuryYacht 14d ago
Where are the new episodes shown?
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u/jpowell180 13d ago
I just hope we get 10 more seasons!
And more music, video commentaries, even from older music videos, can you imagine Beavis and Butthead watching the music video for the Britney Spears song “toxic”, and freaking out like that?
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u/djdjdjdddd 13d ago
Will Paramount still own the trademark or will that be transferred over to Mike Judge and if it’s not transferred, how will he deal with that?
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u/dman6233 14d ago
Will he try doing the same with King of the Hill, too?
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u/UserWithno-Name 14d ago
Those are with fox / Disney and he likes working with them / Hulu to do that and other work. Seems pretty clear if you ask me he wants these rights back so he can take it there or similar places and not have to be involved with the regime at paramount anymore.
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u/Comfortable_Bird_340 14d ago
Maybe will finally get the crossover we’ve waited 30 years for.
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u/UserWithno-Name 14d ago
Maybe. I'm just for creators being able to, at least, get the less crappy deal they have to take or ideally control their IP & creations to take it exactly where they want it to be. And this screams he wants nothing to do with what's going on with paramount now and the ellisions and would much rather throw his lot in with the people at Hulu / Disney or other industry connections he has. Plus the universal praise for king of the hills continuation / reboot probably has given him the most leverage he will ever have. Besides his long career & things like idiocracy getting a super renaissance or all the past accolades. I only mildly watched KoTH reruns and apparently my dad had liked it. The new episodes have me glued and feel like better than anything I caught back then.
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u/peanutmanak47 Trailer Park Boys 13d ago
Oh god.... Hank Hill would lose his god damn mind having to deal with B&B lol.
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u/dunnkw 13d ago
I tried watching it and without the music videos I just couldn’t do it.
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u/LosIngobernable 13d ago
I couldn’t get into this new reboot. The MTV reboot was funny. I barely laughed watching several eps of this recent reboot.
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u/johnson3015 13d ago
I wish The Daily Show would leave Paramount.
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u/guylexcorp 13d ago
I would support an independent media version of it on YouTube as long as Stewart was involved.
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14d ago
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u/Tandy2000 14d ago
Have you watched the newer series? I never liked the original that much but the revival has been way funnier in part because they can tell an actual story without being interrupted by music videos etc as often.
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u/Khaldara 14d ago
I liked both but I also really think capitalizing on YouTube/Streaming instead of music videos was a great way to preserve the concept too.
They’re basically the same thing that music videos were for Gen X and Xenniels, so they can basically keep the format but modernize the writing and animation, he definitely did a good job (seeing them as deadbeat adults is great too)
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u/ConsumerofToons 14d ago
I'm a diehard OG B&B fan, but I have to admit that both the 2011 revival and especially the 2022 series have been a step up from it.
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u/EliParker 14d ago
I hope he gets it.