Mike Judge Talks ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ Evolving for New Series; Gives ‘King of the Hill,’ ‘Daria’ Updates
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Mike Judge knows that there will always be a limit to how much change viewers can expect for the animated leads of his upcoming Paramount+ series Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head.
Judge, who created MTV’s Beavis and Butt-Head in the 1990s, sat down with moderator Paul Scheer for a panel Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss what fans can expect when the new series launches Aug. 4. Judge admitted that it had crossed his mind to make his characters a bit wiser, but he ultimately opted to steadfastly avoid this.
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“There was always a temptation to make them smarter, and I’ve always resisted it,” said Judge. He explained that this had been a topic of discussion when he heard a pitch that someone made while he was working on the recently released film Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe. “I had to say, ‘Beavis and Butt-Head really don’t read very well, so that’s not gonna work.'”
The series is set in the present day, meaning that in addition to obsessing over music videos, as the pair did on the original show, the titular teens will also analyze TikTok and YouTube videos. Preview footage shared during the panel included Butt-Head criticizing Beavis for secretly knowing all the names of the members of BTS, along with the two guys mocking a TikToker who teaches followers how to create prison tattoos.
Additionally, the show will follow the film in continuing to explore what Beavis and Butt-Head would be like in middle age. However, the team decided against changing their basic look for the recent projects, despite the improvements in animation over the decades.
“We talked about all that stuff, and it comes back to, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,'” Judge said about the somewhat-primitive character design. “I’d like them to look better, but every time we tried to make them look better, it would make them less funny.”
Judge teased some fan-favorite characters from the previous show who would appear in the new one, including hippie teacher Mr. Van Driessen and elderly Tom Anderson.
In response to a fan question about whether King of the Hill, co-created by Judge and Greg Daniels, would ever cross over with Beavis and Butt-Head, Judge admitted he had previously considered it. “At one time, I thought Hank Hill was Tom Anderson’s son,” said Judge before concluding that the shows hailing from different companies made it a nonstarter.
He also gave a brief update on continued speculation surrounding development of a King of the Hill revival series. “King of the Hill has a very good chance of coming back,” said Judge. As for the animated series Mike Judge Presents: Tales From the Tour Bus, which last aired new episodes on Cinemax in 2018, Judge said there is also talk of it possibly returning for a season focused on early hip-hop.
Judge spoke briefly about the possibility of more Daria, which starred the popular character who originated on Beavis and Butt-Head in the ’90s before getting her own self-titled MTV series. A spinoff featuring Jodie, to be voiced by Tracee Ellis Ross, was in development as a series and now reportedly has been reconfigured as a film.
It was unclear if Judge was referring to Jodie or something featuring Daria herself. Teased Judge cryptically: “There might be a little Daria spinoff.”
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