Why ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ could finally be embraced by Emmys: It’s ‘gloriously, hilariously crude’
Three decades after they were first introduced in the short film “Frog Baseball” and almost a dozen years after the first revival of their eponymous MTV show concluded, cartoon characters Beavis and Butt-Head returned for a Paramount Plus reboot series in August 2022. Whether it will continue past its first two seasons has yet to be decided, but it certainly has been well-received, as was the 2022 TV movie “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe.” At this point in the “Beavis and Butt-Head” franchise’s existence, no entry has ever attracted the attention of Emmy voters, but the time is right for that to change.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe,” which dropped on Paramount Plus six weeks before the new series premiered, serves as a sequel to the 1996 theatrical film “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.” The plot revolves around the titular teenage dullards (both of whom are voiced by their creator, Mike Judge) traveling through time and coming into contact with intelligent versions of themselves from a parallel universe. Once the adventure is over, they return to their relatively tame lives on their series, which is a continuation of the one that ran on MTV from 1993 to 1997 and then briefly in 2011. As usual, almost every episode features a sequence in which the boys watch a real music or YouTube video and provide their own juvenile commentary.
The new “Beavis and Butt-Head” movie holds a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 97%, with the Los Angeles Times’ Noel Murray calling it “gloriously, hilariously crude.” The rebooted series has a perfect critics rating of 100% as well as an impressive audience score of 96%. Andrew Male (UK Times) notes that “Judge’s wit seems to have sharpened and matured,” while Jesse Hassenger (The Wrap) calls the show “comedy comfort food” and Brian Lowry (CNN) says it is “as funny and proudly stupid as ever.”
“Beavis and Butt-Head” is the only franchise eligible for 2023 Emmy nominations in multiple long-form program categories, namely Best Animated Program and Best TV Movie. In their quest for the former award, its team has submitted the Season 2 premiere installment, which consists of two 11-minute segments entitled “Meditation Sucks” and “Polling Place.” The series (both seasons of which aired during the current Emmys eligibility window) would be the first Paramount Plus production ever nominated for the top animation prize. Another – “Star Trek: Lower Decks” – is also on this year’s ballot, but it was already ignored in 2021 and 2022.
“Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” could bring Paramount Plus its second Best TV Movie nomination after “Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon” set the precedent last year. If it does make it into the lineup, it will break new ground as the category’s very first fully animated nominee. The fact that Disney Plus’ partially animated “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” prevailed here in 2022 gives “Beavis and Butt-Head” an inarguable advantage, as do its inherent nostalgia factor and its characters’ status as undersung cult heroes. By now, it’s clear that the franchise has a lasting cultural impact, and it deserves to succeed on at least one of its two potential major Emmy bids.
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