MADtv is an
American sketch comedy television series. It licenses the name and logo of
Mad, but otherwise has no connection with the humor magazine outside of animated
Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of
Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first TV broadcast was on October 14, 1995. The one-hour show airs Saturday nights on
Fox and is in
syndication on
Comedy Central. In Australia the show screens on satellite and cable TV channel
The Comedy Channel and in late night timeslots on free-to-air broadcaster, the
Nine Network Australia and its affilliates. It was created by Fax Bahr and
Adam Small. The series was originally produced by Bahr/Small Productions and
Quincy Jones/
David Salzman Entertainment (QDE). Since Bahr and Small left the series at the end of
the third season (they are currently credited as "
executive consultants"), the series has been handled by QDE and
Warner Bros. Television (Warner Bros.' parent company
Time Warner owns
Mad magazine through its
DC Comics subsidiary).
On November 12, 2008, Fox announced that MADtv's 14th season would be its last. However, David Salzman said that he would be exploring the continuation of the show on another channel, possibly cable. However the show will not air in the 2009-2010 season. In early 2009, the show was moved behind
Talkshow with Spike Feresten, the show that normally follows
MADtv, as a test, before being moved back. The series finale aired on
May 16,
2009.
Format
MADtv was taped in front of a live audience and consists of
sketch comedy skits and musical performances. Much of its comedy parodies popular television shows, movies and music, and covers topical, political, and pop cultural humor.
Notable tenures
Tenure by seasons
Although
MADtv has a rapid turnover of supporting players, some performers have had long tenures with the show. Few have broken the
seven-year barrier. The longest-serving cast members are, by number of seasons:
Tenure by episodes
There have been fourteen MADtv cast members who have appeared in over 100 episodes. Among the cast members who have appeared in the most episodes are the following:
- Nicole Parker is the only cast member to be nominated and win an Emmy for her work on the show.
- Michael McDonald is the only cast member to have a "Best Of" compilation episode devoted to him.
History of MADtv
Historical synopsis
The following are a series of links to pages which give a detailed account of the history of
MADtv.
MADtv era breakdown
For a historical overview with a detail analysis of each era of
MADtv (cast members, sketches, animation, etc.) please see one of the following links below:
MADtv season breakdown
For a detailed description of each season of
MADtv, with cast members, sketches, animation, etc., see below:
Recurring characters and sketches
Home media
Warner Home Video released
The Complete First Season of MADtv in 2004. However, due to poor sales, the release of the second season was cancelled (despite a preview for it in the first season DVD).
MADtv: The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10 was released in 2005, featuring the most popular sketches from those seasons.
Reruns
Originally, reruns of
MADtv aired as 30-minute reruns on
local TV stations. The cable channel TNN (now
Spike TV) aired the first six seasons of
MADtv from 1999 to 2001.
Comedy Central soon picked up the show after its syndication package of
Saturday Night Live reruns was acquired by the E! Entertainment Network, and has aired 30-minute and full-hour reruns of episodes from season one to season eleven (though, as of 2009, Comedy Central is airing
MADtv episodes from seasons eight to eleven).
Awards/Nominations
This table is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
