Quick, name your ten favorite MadTV sketches.
Okay maybe just go with your top five.
Can you at least name two?
Anyway, regardless of it’s lack of impact on pop culture or the fact that it was always considered Saturday Night Live‘s sophomoric cousin, MadTV is coming back to primetime thanks to The CW.
Nine years after MadTV ended its 14-season run on Fox, the Emmy-winning sketch comedy series is coming back. The CW has ordered eight hourlong episodes for a primetime run. David E. Salzman, who executive produced the original series, is back as executive producer/showrunner.
The CW aired a MadTV 20th anniversary special in January and it’s digital network Seed recently-acquired 75 episodes from the original series, which ran for fourteen seasons between 1995 and 2009. While the comedy was often lacking, the show launched the careers of folks such as Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Alex Borstein, Taran Killam, Will Sasso, and Ike Barinholtz. Patton Oswalt and David Wain also cut their teeth on the writing staff.
The revival will have special appearances by returning cast members of the original series, who will act as hosts for new episodes. Those castmembers, as well as the new cast, remains TBD.
The CW has found success with it’s revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? so perhaps they’ve discovered a 90’s network comedy itch that audiences want to scratch. It also doesn’t hurt that Mike Darnell, Warner Brothers’ President of Unscripted and Alternative TV, was in charge of MadTV while at Fox.
“I was extraordinarily proud to be in charge of MadTV during most of its run at Fox Broadcasting Company,” he said. “In my opinion, it was always an underrated show that rivaled the best sketch comedy on television”
A quick look around the sketch comedy landscape in 2016 makes one wonder where the lowest-common-denominator comedy of MadTV might fit in nowadays. Then again, we suppose there’s always room for that on television.
[Deadline]
