Yesterday, Comedy Central announced that Beavis and Butt-Head is getting a reboot. The animated series from the early 90s originally ran for eight seasons and across that time, the show amassed a loyal following, one that turned into a cult after the program entered syndication. Are they happy with the news, though? Well, the answer may surprise you.
Facts first. In their statement, Comedy Central said the reboot will be directed by Mike Judge, who was the creator and showrunner of the original series. As if this bit of news wasn’t good enough on its own, the network also revealed it would be producing not one, but two seasons, alongside spinoffs and specials.
Beavis and Butt-Head, which aired from 1993 till 2011, was one of the first adult-oriented animated sitcoms ever to air on television. Spawning juggernauts like King of the Hill and Daria, it played a major role in the shaping of the animation industry and the formation of distributor MTV as a staple of 90s culture.
For those of you who didn’t grow up in the 90s, the show’s centered on the titular Beavis and Butt-Head, two crudely drawn youngsters who experience various uneventful misadventures. Both in animation and writing style, it was a pioneer in the use of anti-humor, combining thinly-stretched plots with crudely-drawn animation to provoke surprisingly strong laughs.
While fans of the original show are happy to see these two characters return to the screen, they aren’t sure about the direction the reboot will be taking them, as evidenced below.
The world needs more Cornholio!! And in a Corona environment it could be hard for Beavis to find his TP — just saying. https://t.co/504vZrBCcb
— sandy cannold (@SandyCannold) July 1, 2020
Only problem is the best part of Beavis and Butt-Head was their commentary while they were watching the music videos. Who watches music videos on TV in 2020? https://t.co/gYGGQjELFp
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) July 1, 2020
The 2011 Beavis & Butt-Head was so good and basically prematurely murdered by MTV so I have really high hopes for this new reboot.
— SuperYoshi (@SushiYoper) July 1, 2020
ALRIGHT I LOVE BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY WOULD REBOOT IT… I’VE NEVER ASKED MYSELF “BOY I WONDER WHAT BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD WOULD THINK OF TIKTOK”
— WARHORSE (@JPWARHORSE) July 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/thelegendkil/status/1278406966675681286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1278406966675681286%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Ftv-shows%2Fnews%2Fbeavis-and-butt-head-reboot-news-has-fans-divided%2F
every few years they try to bring back youth-oriented relics like Beavis and Butt-head or TRL and it never works because people under the age of 21 are so unaccustomed to consuming media created by salaried employees and not problematic influencers with sunglasses sponsorships
— Dan Ozzi (@danozzi) July 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/ItsNikolaiS/status/1278404544305623045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1278404544305623045%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Ftv-shows%2Fnews%2Fbeavis-and-butt-head-reboot-news-has-fans-divided%2F
On The Bright Side Beavis & Butthead Are Coming Back😂
— Niquee🖤✨ (@NiqueeThaDon) July 2, 2020
Has it already been a decade since news broke of the previous Beavis and Butt-Head reboot? pic.twitter.com/ywmaaehqHV
— Kenny Herzog (@KennyHerzog) July 1, 2020
According to Comedy Central’s description, the program will reinvent the duo for a “whole new Gen Z world.” Of course, reinventing old ideas for younger audiences is always controversial, and while the final product is sometimes more marketable towards today’s viewers, producers still risk losing the magic that made the original iteration of their story great.
Whether Beavis and Butt-Head will fall into the same trap, though, remains to be seen.