Beavis & Butt-Head Creator Mike Judge Reveals the Surprising Inspiration of the Show’s Revival at Comic-Con 2022

Mike Judge, the mind behind Office Space and King of the Hill, first exploded into the mainstream consciousness with MTV’s Beavis and Butt-Head, which fan from 1993 until 1997. The series became a grunge-era hit, and after its cancellation remained a key aspect of ’90s pop culture. Earlier this year, though, the property was revived with Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, a feature-film sequel to Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. Next up: Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head, a new series coming to Paramount+ in August.

Judge appeared at Comic Con International in San Diego yesterday, discussing the series and its past on a panel with moderator Paul Scheer. He told ComicBook.com about the surprising impetus for the return.

“It fell back in place pretty nicely,” Judge told ComicBook’s Brandon Davis. “I’ve been saying what started it was, the band Portugal the Man, I met them right before they got whatever level of huge they are. They’d asked me to do an intro for them of Beavis and Butt-Head introducing them for Coachella, and I hadn’t done those voices in so long at that point. I gave it a try, and then I listened back, and it was fun to do, and it sounded like Beavis and Butt-Head, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is kind of easy for me to do.’ And then Viacom, Paramount+ had reached out about doing more, and it also seemed like a good time to do it. It’s a good time to return to stupidity. There’s not a lot of dumb, simple comedy around.”

In 2020, Comedy Central — which, like MTV, is owned by Paramount — announced that they would revive the series, ordering two seasons and the ever-so-slight title change. Later, it was determined that the series would forego traditional, linear TV in favor of a streaming release on Paramount+.

You can see the official synopsis for the series here: 

In Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head  , Beavis and Butt-Head are back and stupider than ever.

Created and voiced by writer, producer and director Mike Judge, the characters of Beavis and Butt-Head originated in Judge’s 1992 short film “Frog Baseball,” which was broadcast by MTV’s animation showcase “Liquid Television.” After MTV commissioned a full series around the characters, “Beavis and Butt-Head” ran for seven seasons from March 8, 1993 to Nov. 28, 1997. The series was revived in 2011 with an eighth season airing on MTV. During its initial run, “Beavis and Butt-Head” received widespread critical acclaim for its satirical, scathing commentary on society. The show’s popularity spawned various related media, including the theatrical film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America in 1996.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head is executive-produced by Mike Judge, Lew Morton and Michael Rotenberg, and Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Ben Kalina, and Antonio Canobbio for Titmouse. The series will premiere on August 4 on Paramount+.