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MTV Cancels The Long-Running Ridiculousness
Image courtesy of MTV // Illustration by Kate Walker
MTV has surprisingly canceled Rob Dyrdek’s Ridiculousness — not only the network’s most popular show, but the one that almost makes up its entire daily programming.
The Big Picture: There’s no overstating how fundamental Ridiculousness is to MTV. Since its 2011 premiere, the clip show has been the defining program for an entire generation of viewers. So, its cancellation signals that Paramount’s new leadership is serious about a complete overhaul — something CEO David Ellison has already hinted at publicly.
Behind The Scenes: After 15 years, 46 seasons, roughly 1,700 episodes, and four spinoffs, the Ridiculousness era is coming to a close in 2026.
Newly produced episodes will continue to air throughout the year, with reruns remaining in rotation.
That leaves a massive programming gap, considering Ridiculousness accounted for 113 hours of MTV’s 168-hour weekly lineup.
And it’s not as if MTV has a deep bench of alternatives — its current lineup mostly consists of Jersey Shore, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and The Challenge.
Plus, the network won’t be saving that much by canceling Ridiculousness — the show is dirt-cheap to produce, and Dyrdek’s $32.5 million annual salary is a rounding error for a network that’s stayed afloat largely because of him.
New Network: David Ellison reportedly plans to bring MTV back to its roots — making it all about the music again. That could mean new shows, live events, and, as audiences of a certain age will recall, plenty of music videos. According to THR, Ellison also wants to get more “experimental” with programming — a fun way to shake up a tired network. He’s already sparked interest in partnerships from legendary music manager Irving Azoff and UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. Not a bad start.
Coming Soon: MTV could become the perfect playground for out-of-the-box creatives to run wild with ideas, seeing what sticks and draws young viewers back.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.