What with all of the revivals, remakes and continuations dropping all over the place on TV these days, one could find it easy to forget that reunion specials used to be the extent of a fan-favorite show returning to viewers. But that’s what’s happening with the defunct sketch series MADtv, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a one-hour reunion special set to air on The CW next year.
The MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion will hit The CW on Tuesday, January 12, filling in for The Flash/iZombie during the winter hiatus. Fans can look forward to seeing a bunch of clips from some of the show’s best sketches, which probably means a whole lot of movie and TV parodies. Interspersed throughout the clips will be “new comedy material” from 19 former cast members. The list is large.
Some of the biggest names of the bunch are Family Guy star Alex Borstein, Mindy Project’s Ike Barinholtz, and Key & Peele’s Keegan-Michael Key. But the rest is just as good, as we’ll also be seeing the aforementioned “new comedy material” from Michael McDonald, Phil LaMarr, Artie Lange, Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson, Mo Collins, Bobby Lee, Anjelah Johnson, Nicole Randall Johnson, Arden Myrin, Nicole Parker, Eric Price, Will Sasso and Aries Spears. There are definitely some notable names missing from that list, but this squad definitely represents the show from its earliest days in 1995 to its final days in 2009.
It’s a shame that only an hour was put together, considering how large the cast list is and how accomplished many of them have become outside of the sketch series. I mean, the show was on for 14 seasons, and while not everything was great, there’s more than enough to cover a two-hour special. I don’t know why I’m taking this so personally. I think it’s the fact that former cast members David Herman and Andy Daly aren’t going to be a part of it. All this rage.
No doubt you’re already thinking about what sketches you want to revisit, and what characters you want to see the actors reprising. There’s a good chance we’ll see some of the ones from the video below, and I’m pretty sure people will riot if there’s no Stuart Larkin or Miss Swan.
So don’t forget to pay your respects to one of the longest-running sketch series by checking out the MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion on The CW on Tuesday, January 12, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.
