| Celebrity Deathmatch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sports entertainment Stop-motion (clay animation) Black comedy Parody |
| Created by | Eric Fogel[1] |
| Developed by | Eric Fogel Gordon Barnett |
| Directed by | Eric Fogel (1998–2002) Andrew Horne (2006–2007) Jack Fletcher (2006) |
| Starring | Steve 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) |
| Composers | Eric Perlmutter Alan Elliot |
| Country of origin | United States (entire run) Canada (seasons 5–6) |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 93(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Abby Terkuhle (1998–2002) Richard Doctorow (2006) |
| Producer | John Worth Lynn Jr. (1998–2002) |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies | Fogelmania Productions MTV Animation (1998–2002) The Comedy Network (2006–2007) Cuppa Coffee Studio (2006–2007) |
| Original release | |
| Network | MTV |
| Release | May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) – June 6, 2002 (2002-06-06) |
| Network | MTV2 |
| Release | June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) – March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29) |
Celebrity Deathmatch is anadultstop-motionclaymation series created byEric Fogel forMTV.[2] It is aparody ofsports entertainment programs that depicts claymatedcaricatures of variouscelebrities engaging in highly stylizedprofessional 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]
Twotelevision pilots were broadcast on MTV on January 1 and 25, 1998.[5] The series properly premiered on May 14, 1998, and ended its original run on June 6, 2002, airing for 77 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 networkUPN.[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? andThe Adventures of Chico and Guapo. The revival series was produced without any involvement from Fogel. While the first four seasons were animated byFogelmania Productions and TakToon Enterprise, the series' fifth and sixth seasons were produced byCuppa 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 withIce 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 2025, the revival from 2006 is available to watch onParamount+.[9]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| Pilots | 2 | January 1, 1998 (1998-01-01) | January 25, 1998 (1998-01-25) | MTV | |
| 1 | 12 | May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) | October 22, 1998 (1998-10-22) | ||
| 2 | 21 | January 31, 1999 (1999-01-31) | November 11, 1999 (1999-11-11) | ||
| 3 | 25 | January 27, 2000 (2000-01-27) | February 11, 2001 (2001-02-11) | ||
| 4 | 19 | July 22, 2001 (2001-07-22) | June 6, 2002 (2002-06-06) | ||
| 5 | 8 | June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) | July 29, 2006 (2006-07-29) | MTV2 | |
| 6 | 8 | February 8, 2007 (2007-02-08) | March 29, 2007 (2007-03-29) | ||
Celebrity Deathmatch started in 1997 on MTV'sCartoon Sushi as a short that featured convicted murdererCharles Manson and shock rockerMarilyn Manson fighting to the death.Deathmatch was brought back in 1998 forMTV'sSuper Bowl XXXII halftime special. Just three months later,Celebrity Deathmatch had entered MTV's main lineup. The show was popular enough for show creatorEric Fogel to be named one of the most creative people in the TV industry byEntertainment Weekly.CDM was not the first time Fogel made a show for MTV, as he also had a hand in creatingThe Head. Despite its short run,The Head was noted for introducingJohn DiMaggio as a voice actor.
During the next four seasons,Celebrity Deathmatch became more popular in other countries and gained viewers from all over the world, but four seasons and 75 episodes later in 2002, MTV decided to cancel the show.[11]
Stephen Warbrick, one of the co-creators ofSuperjail! onAdult Swim, worked as a VFX colorist and graphic artist for the series.
MTV askedMarilyn Manson to compose a song for the show. Ultimately, the song conveyed the public's obsession with violence and sadistic acts which were portrayed on television. Manson believed that was the show's satirical take regarding society as a whole. "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" became the only single off theCelebrity Deathmatchsoundtrack. It was nominated in 2001 for theBest Metal PerformanceGrammy Award and later included on Manson's albumThe Last Tour on Earth.
New episodes of the show, which began production in 2005, were produced byCuppa Coffee Studio as opposed to MTV's now-defunct animation department.[12][13] The show featured an all-new voice cast and a new look. Johnny, Nick, andMills Lane returned, albeit with new voices. Mills Lane, who used to be played by himself, was played byChris Edgerly due to the real Mills Lane's 2002stroke.Debbie Matenopoulos was replaced by Tally Wong. Eric Fogel chose not to get very involved with the new seasons due to his involvement on his showStarveillance for theE! network. The show was directed byJack Fletcher and Dave "Canadian" Thomas. This run of the series was also not very well received by fans, especially due to the lack of Eric Fogel's involvement. Despite which, during the 2006 season, fans were able to vote on MTV2.com for future matches by choosing one of three matches and by sending a write-in request. However, due to the second cancellation of the show, these matches would not come to fruition.
In April 2015,MTV2 announced a reboot of the show on itsTwitter account. On November 2, 2016, Eric Fogel confirmed via Twitter that production on the reboot had been scrapped for unknown reasons and the pilot would not be going forward.
On December 6, 2018, MTV Studios announced yet another "reimagining" of the show was set to air in 2019 withIce Cube as star andexecutive producer through hisCube Vision production company, with series creator Eric Fogel also as an executive producer, being unclear whether or not the weekly series would air on MTV, as the new version of the show was seeking "an exclusive [streaming video on demand] or premium broadcast partner."[14] However, in an interview, executive producer Eric Fogel said: "I've had some conversations with Ice Cube. We're trying to put a plan in place. There's nothing I can announce officially. But there have been conversations." Despite that, no other new information, announcements nor updates have surfaced, and it has been rumored or speculated that the reboot is presumed to have been quietly cancelled with the re-merger of Viacom and CBS intoParamount Global and the shift of content production overall for the company toParamount+. As of 2025, the 2006 reboot is available to stream on Paramount+.
A video game based on the series was released for thePlayStation,PlayStation 2,Xbox, andMicrosoft Windows on October 14, 2003 byGotham Games.[15]
Celebrity Deathmatch aired in reruns onUPN[16] and was re-aired on TNN (The National Network) (later Spike TV, nowParamount Network) from 2002 to 2003.
