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Celebrity Deathmatch

This article is about the TV show. For the soundtrack, see Celebrity Deathmatch (soundtrack). For the video game, see Celebrity Deathmatch (video game).

Celebrity Deathmatch
GenreSports entertainment
Stop-motion (clay animation)
Dark comedy
Parody
Created byEric Fogel[1]
Developed byEric Fogel
Gordon Barnett
Directed byEric Fogel (1998–2002)
Andrew Horne (2006–2007)
Jack Fletcher (2006)
StarringSteve Austin (1998-2002)
Maurice Schlafer (1998–2002)
Len Maxwell (1998–2002)
Mills Lane (1998–2002)
Chris Edgerly (2006–2007)
Masasa Moyo (2006–2007)
Jim Thornton (2006–2007)
ComposersEric Perlmutter
Alan Elliot
Country of originUnited States (entire run)
Canada (seasons 5-6)
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes93 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAbby Terkuhle (1998–2002)
Richard Doctorow (2006)
ProducerJohn Worth Lynn Jr. (1998-2002)
Running time21 minutes
Production companiesFogelmania Productions
MTV Animation (1998-2002)
The Comedy Network (2006–2007)
Cuppa Coffee Studio (2006–2007)
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseMay 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) –
June 6, 2002 (2002-06-06)
NetworkMTV2
ReleaseJune 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) –
March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Celebrity Deathmatch is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV.[2] A parody of sports entertainment programs, Celebrity Deathmatch depicted various celebrities engaging in highly stylized professional wrestling matches. The series was known for its large amount of gory violence, including combatants employing different abilities and weapons to deliver particularly brutal attacks, resulting in exaggerated physical injuries.[3][4]

Two television pilots were broadcast on MTV on January 1 and 25, 1998.[5] The series properly premiered on May 14, 1998, and ended on June 6, 2002, airing for 93 episodes. A series of German shorts, Celebrity Deathmatch Hits Germany, aired on June 21, 2001, but it was poorly received from the fans, which was rumored to be the source of the show's cancellation. For a brief period during that year, reruns of the series aired on broadcast network UPN.[6] Early in 2003, a film based on the series was announced by MTV to be in production, but the project was canceled by the end of the year.

In 2005, MTV2 announced the revival of the show as part of their Sic 'Em Friday programming block. Originally set to return in November 2005, the premiere was pushed back to June 10, 2006 as part of a block with two other animated series, Where My Dogs At? and The Adventures of Chico and Guapo. The revival series was produced without any involvement from Fogel. While the first four seasons were animated by Fogelmania Productions and TakToon Enterprise, the series' fifth and sixth seasons were produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios, and the premiere drew over 2.5 million viewers, becoming MTV2's highest rated season premiere ever. It was canceled again in 2007.

In April 2015, MTV2 announced a reboot of the series.[7] However, in November 2016, Fogel stated via Twitter that MTV did not pick up the pilot to the series.[8]

On December 6, 2018, MTV Studios announced a reimagining of the show was set to return in 2019 with Ice Cube as star and executive producer. However, no announcements, updates, nor new information have surfaced since the announcement and it has been speculated to have been quietly cancelled. As of 2024, the revival from 2006 is available to watch on Paramount+.[9]

  1. ^ "Eric Fogel, Creator of Celebrity Deathmatch, Starveillance and Anton & Crapbag". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 114. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ "DOWN FOR THE COUNT WHO'S GOING TO TAKE THE NEXT FALL IN MTV'S 'CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH'?". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Brown, Deneen L. (September 1, 1999). "Celebrities Take It on the Chin in Stop-Motion; Television: MTV's hit series 'Deathmatch' pits entertainers and athletes against one another in Claymation battles". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  5. ^ "MTV's 'Celebrity Deathmatch': Wickedly Funny Feats in Clay - latimes". Articles.latimes.com. May 14, 1998. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  6. ^ DeMott, Rick (December 21, 2000). "Celebrity Deathmatch Enters UPN Ring". Animation World Network. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "MTV2 orders pilot for Celebrity Deathmatch reboot". Entertainment Weekly. April 14, 2015.
  8. ^ "Eric Fogel confirms pilot drop". Twitter. November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  9. ^ "Celebrity Deathmatch". Paramount+. June 10, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

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