Back in August of 1981, a new cable channel called MTV was launched and it didn’t take long for it to become a sensation. At that time, MTV aired music videos all day long but over time that changed as the network began producing more and more “reality” shows and fictional series. Fortunately for MTV, many of those shows became huge hits for the network.Throughout most of MTV’s history, the network had a very edgy image. As a result, the people in charge of MTV were often willing to air shows that pushed the envelope. Unfortunately, some MTV shows have aged very poorly and there are even some that were so problematic that they would be instantly canceled today.
6 Why MTV’s A Double Shot at Love With The Ikki Twins Would Be Canceled Today
After A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila became a hit for MTV, the network tried to recreate its success by airing its spin-off series, A Double Shot at Love with the Ikki Twins. Focused on Rikki and Vikki Mongeon who called themselves the Ikki Twins, the show was about the identical twins trying to find love among a group of both genders.
In this day and age, a “reality” show about twins trying to find love together definitely could work. However, since A Double Shot at Love with the Ikki Twins was a competition show, the series featured the same group of people trying to seduce the identical sisters. Watching the same people trying to be romantic with one sister after another was disturbing enough but the show’s finale took things too far. In the end, both of the Ikki Twins claimed to be in love with the same man and asked him to decide which one of them he wanted to date and everything about that is offputting.
5 Why MTV’s Date My Mom Would Be Canceled Today
From 2004 until 2006, MTV aired a truly mind-boggling show called Date My Mom. A show that was exactly what it sounds like, Date My Mom featured young people going on a date with three mothers. After those dates, the young person who went on the dates would have to decide which child they wanted to take out based on what happened with their moms.
Based on the show’s concept alone, Date My Mom was really weird but in theory, it could air in this day and age. However, the show’s execution made sure the show wouldn’t exist today because it was cringey at every turn. After all, crazy things like the moms locking lips with the young person they wanted to date their child happened all the time and that wouldn’t fly today.
4 Why MTV’s Room Raiders Would Be Canceled Today
During each episode of Room Raiders, a trio of young people would seemingly be kidnapped from their bedrooms and thrown in the back of a van. From there, a different person would be caught on camera examining those rooms as the trio watched the footage from the van. From there, the person who went through each room would decide which one of the trio they want to date based on nothing but their rooms.
Unsurprisingly, a show in which someone goes through three different bedrooms could be very cringey at times. In fact, finding weird and gross things in the bedrooms was so common that the room raider was given a spy kit with gloves and other tools for handling yucky stuff. On top of that, even though the people who were taken from their rooms clearly knew what was going to happen since the cameras were there, the show pretended that wasn’t the case. In some episodes, producers went so far as to have the people be taken out of their room wearing nothing but their underwear.
3 Why MTV’s Jackass Would Be Canceled Today
In 2022, Jackass Forever was released and it made a lot of money based on how cheap the film was to produce. Of course, that wasn’t overly surprising considering that every other Jackass movie also turned a huge profit for MTV films. However, the truly shocking thing about Jackass Forever is the movie currently holds a 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Considering that Jackass Forever was fully embraced and it made new stars, it may seem like the franchise going back to television is a no-brainer. However, unless the show was a lot different than the original version that aired on MTV all those years ago, it would be far too offensive for a mainstream television audience. For proof of that, all you have to do is look at the fact that Jackass episodes that stream on Paramount+ are preceeded by the following warning. “This program is airing in its original form with outdated social norms.”
2 Why MTV’s I Want a Famous Face Would Be Canceled Today
For anyone to make it in Hollywood these days, they sadly have to live up to impossible beauty standards. As a result, it sadly has become far too common for celebrities to get plastic surgery they later regret. While that is bad enough, the problem comes with another ripple since lots of regular people then go to extremes in an attempt to look like the same stars.
In 2004 and 2005, MTV aired a show called I Want a Famous Face. During each episode of the show, people would go under the knife to look like their favorite stars. Even if every person who appeared in I Want a Famous Face came out looking like their favorite star, and that isn’t the case, the show still set a bad example for viewers. Now that TV networks are held to a higher standard, MTV never would want to air a show that so blatantly makes viewers think the only way they will be beautiful is through dangerous surgeries.
1 Why MTV’s Next Would Be Canceled Today
When people look back at the MTV show Next today, they tend to laugh because it is so insane the show ever aired in the first place. However, if Next was on the air today, it seems all but certain that nobody would be laughing as most viewers would be too busy being offended. After all, Next almost seems like it was designed to be as offensive as possible.
During Next, five people would line up to go on a date with one person who was the episode’s star. As the dates commenced, the episode’s star would say “next” anytime they were turned off for any reason at all. As a result of that format, people often were judged at first glance as some people were rejected the second the episode’s star saw them. Worse yet, people often were judged in hateful ways as a lot of the comments that were supposed to be fun actually were homophobic, racist, or sexist.
