Two decades after its first run, and nearly ten years after the 2011 revival, Comedy Central are reviving the adolescent animated comedy Beavis and Butt-Head, ordering two seasons straight off the bat with plans for further spin-offs.
When the new seasons come to Comedy Central, they will join the Tracee Ellis Ross-led cartoon Jodie, a spin-off of Daria which was itself a spin-off of Beavis and Butt-Head. This typifies the kind of quiet influence the show has – it’s the brainchild of Mike Judge, also responsible for King Of The Hill, Office Space, Idiocracy, and Silicon Valley. Happily, Judge will be at the centre of this revival, writing, voice acting and producing just like the old days.
The revival claims to see Beavis and Butt-Head “enter a whole new Gen Z world with meta-themes that are said to be relatable to both new fans who may be unfamiliar with the original series and old” – though rather than clumsily update the central pair for the modern age, it casts them as Gen X parents to Gen Z children. Whether the trials of parenthood will have the least effect on their greasy, snickering approach to life is anyone’s guess. Judge has previously claimed to see the characters as being either teenagers or old men, at one point suggesting “I was thinking about having a Beavis and Butt-Head movie where they’re just 60-year-old winos”.
Comedy Central’s President of Entertainment and Youth Group president Chris McCarthy said “We are thrilled to be working with Mike Judge and the great team at 3 Arts again as we double down on Adult Animation at Comedy Central…Beavis and Butt-Head were a defining voice of a generation, and we can’t wait to watch as they navigate the treacherous waters of a world light-years from their own.”
Judge was more laconic about the news of the revival, saying only “It seemed like the time was right to get stupid again.”
The show originally ran for seven seasons between 1993 and 1997, a period which also saw a film adaptation – Beavis and Butt-Head Do America – and an alarming number of tie-in Windows 95 games, and is known to have been a major influence on a little show called South Park.
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