It's almost absurd to consider the fact that 25 years have passed since Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-head first graced MTV with their immature perversions and hot takes on music videos. Judge is currently still putting out fan-beloved cable comedies, but many fans will always hold Beavis and Butt-head up as his magnum opus. (Huh-huh, "magnum.") As it happens, Judge also feels that way, saying this:
It's still probably my favorite thing I've ever done. I mean, not all of it is good. We did some of them so quickly. But the stuff that's good I look back fondly on and really like it. I got my foot in the door because of it, so it led to everything. For that reason alone, I'm still fond of it.
Mike Judge's answer will almost definitely be celebrated by fans who also peg Beavis and Butt-head as a favorite among the creator's works. With its simple concept and even simpler characters, the animated comedy became a hit with audiences who were equally fond of the duo's apathy-driven logic and MST3K-esque riffs on popular music.
As such, Beavis and Butt-head became the surprising meal ticket that launched Mike Judge's career in a big way, leading to films such as the fan-favorites Office Space and Idiocracy. As well, Judge's work on MTV's animated projects led to arguably his most successful TV venture, King of the Hill. (More on that show's potential return in a bit.)
Currently, Mike Judge is still making cable TV a better place with HBO's tech satire Silicon Valley and Showtime's animated Tales from the Tour Bus. Seeds from Beavis and Butt-head can be recognized in both shows, too, from the "everything sucks" attitude of Silicon Valley's Gilfoyle to the music-focused hilarity of Tales from the Tour Bus. Plus, I believe it's quite obvious how a movie like Idiocracy is a natural extension of the characters' combined intelligence.
Beavis and Butt-head's influence and popularity was proven in full with 1996's feature film Beavis and Butt-head Do America. It happened again in 2011, when MTV reteamed with Mike Judge for a new season of episodes that were largely received as favorably as the initial run was. That return only lasted for one season, sadly.
While fans would definitely like to see more Beavis and Butt-head in the future, Mike Judge has actually been working on bringing King of the Hill back to TV in some way. It sounds like we're getting closer than ever to getting that revival, too, even if the scheduling has to be perfectly timed. In his words:
Yeah, we're still having conversations about it. Nothing yet. We've just all been busy with other stuff. All the people involved and who we've been talking to, I guess I'm not supposed to say. [Laughs.] But we've been talking about it over the last year, and I think we might have a way to do it. So yeah, that's another one we're kicking around.
We're always hoping for as many Mike Judge projects on the air as possible, so we'll be keeping a close eye on how things shake out for him in the coming months. You can currently watch the recently premiered second season of Mike Judge Presents Tales from the Tour Bus on Cinemax at 10 p.m. ET.
