Beavis and Butt-Head are making a triumphant return to television, as a reboot of the series has officially secured a two-season order at Comedy Central. According to Variety, the new deal is part of a new animation deal between the network, series creator Mike Judge, and 3 Arts Entertainment. The agreement also provides the potential for specials and spinoffs.
Judge will once again write, produce and provide the voices for both characters. “It seemed like the time was right to get stupid again,” Judge joked in a statement. Chris McCarthy, president of Entertainment & Youth Group at ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks, also commented on the news, saying, “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.”
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Beavis and Butt-Head originally aired on MTV from 1993 until 1997. Every episode ran between 5 and 11 minutes in length. It later had an eighth season on MTV in 2011. In 1996, a feature film — Beavis and Butt-Head Do America — was released. It featured voice roles by many A-list stars, such as Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Cloris Leachman, Robert Stack, Eric Bogosian, Richard Linklater, Greg Kinnear (uncredited role) and David Letterman (credited as Earl Hofert). It as a hit with both audiences and critics, and even earned a rare “two thumbs up” from Siskel and Ebert. For years, there has been talk of a film sequel, with Judge saying that there is certifiably potential for another Beavis and Butt-Head movie.
The show was quite controversial during its run, as on more than one occasion, it was blamed for influencing teens who were charged with reckless acts that claimed lives. In response to accusations that the show was a bad influence on impressionable minds, MTV released a disclaimer that read, “Beavis and Butt-Head are not real. They are stupid cartoon people completely made up by this Texas guy whom we hardly even know. Beavis and Butt-Head are dumb, crude, thoughtless, ugly, sexist, self-destructive fools. But for some reason, the little wienerheads make us laugh.” The disclaimer verbiage was later changed to read: “Beavis and Butt-Head are not role models. They’re not even human. They’re cartoons. Some of the things they do would cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested, possibly deported. To put it another way: don’t try this at home.”
