Welcome back, Beavis and Butt-Head. The metal-loving, MTV-watching, savage teen music critics have returned to the small screen in 2022, leading a new Paramount+ revival under the moniker Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head. The first episodes of the new season have been revealed and the reviews have started rolling in. So is the new season “fire” or will you need “teepee for your bunghole”?
Overall it appears to be a welcome return for Beavis and Butt-Head, with many of the critics noting how well the new series transitions to modern day without bashing you over the head with modern day elements.
Yes, it’s been reported that our boys have graduated to watching TikTok videos, but that’s only a slight change over the music video commentary (which by the way is still there) that they provided in the ’90s.
“Their shock and horror at a TikTok clip of a teenage girl emotionally opening college acceptance letters drew an explosion of laughter from me and their response to an ex-convict’s prison tattoo tutorial illustrated Judge’s impeccable ability to do bad Southern accents in the guise of both characters. And if the idea of Beavis and Butt-Head learning about ASMR amuses you, the result is roughly what you’re expecting,” writes The Hollywood Reporter in their review.
They go on to add that other installments are “solidly amusing, if rarely remarkable,” but the initial episodes “begin the process of bringing back other pieces of the show’s ensemble, which is a positive.” They call it “another step in Beavis and Butt-Head’s smooth return to TV screens.”
The latest Beavis and Butt-Head series did not hit the mark with all critics though. Collider took issue with one bit of modernization. “As a sign of the times, Beavis and Butt-Head also watch clips of YouTube and TikTok videos. This is less effective because these videos have both a lot of dialogue and text. Beavis and Butt-Head don’t read, and they have short attention spans. I refuse to believe that they would follow a video showing how to make prison tattoo dye.” That said, they still conclude, “I don’t know if the new Beavis and Butt-Head will gain any new fans; I don’t know if it was meant to. But I know that old-skool fans of the show will enjoy it,” while giving it a B rating.
Consequence offers, “Almost 30 years after its original premiere, we’re far removed from the slacker culture in which Beavis and Butt-Head first thrived. Still, even though being smart is back in fashion, Judge reminds us with the first two episodes provided to critics that sometimes it’s okay to hang out on the couch and giggle over nonsense with your buddies. Sometimes, when the real world is giving us such a grave emotional pounding, it’s exactly what you need.”
In another review from Richmond.com, it’s stated, “Whether the boys get trapped in a bathroom they’ve mistaken for an escape room or get trapped in a cardboard box they’re hiding in at school, the idiocy is so pronounced it’s almost brilliant.”
Music City Drive In gives Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head as four star review, stating, “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head return with a banger … you will definitely find yourself laughing throughout the first episode.”
England’s The Guardian comments, “Much like the recently returning Jackass team, they haven’t done much learning while they’ve been away – and they’re all the better for it.”
Sahu News offers, “Aside from dumbass and similar mild profanity, Beavis and Butt-Head remain as immature as they have always been. That may make this series seem tame compared to the levels that Trey Parker and Matt Stone have taken South Park, but it also makes this new Beavis and Butt-Head refreshingly old school.”
They continue, “This series remains a very dumb and very fun diversion about two idiots whose simple observations, while clouded by hormones and stupidity, are still profound in making us look at the world in a different way. No one will ever confuse Beavis and Butt-Head with Plato and Aristotle, but like Lloyd and Harry from Dumb & Dumber, Bill and Ted, and any other classic comedy duo, these numbskulls take the world around us and say the things that we are all too filtered to say for ourselves. Plus, anything remotely shaped like a penis is always hilarious.
IGN also lauds Judge’s approach to the 2022 edition of his dynamic duo, stating, “Beavis and Butt-Head are an institution for Millennials across the world. Seeing them returning to TV, albeit by way of streaming, is a sign of the times. And the fact that they’re still funny is a miracle, when so many factors could have gone wrong with this revival. It’s not easy to retain a series’ humor and spirit when adapting it for a new audience, but these new stories land fantastically, even when some of the jokes tend to get a little long in the tooth.”
The first episode of Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head has been made available for free. You can watch it below. All other episodes are streaming via Paramount+.
Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+ Episode 1)
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