Four years ago—seems like eons ago—I griped about the even more distant past of MTV’s glory days. Gone were the music videos and barrier-breaking cartoons and programming; unceremoniously by campy reality and dating shows. Many kids of the 90’s saw their childhoods evaporate with a changing network. Well, 90’s kids: Rejoice!
Yesterday, on the 35th anniversary of the network, MTV launched MTV Classic, which will feature many of the shows that made the network such a giant with millennials. The new channel isn’t necessarily new, but instead a rebranding of VH1 Classic. From original music-focused programs such TRL and Unplugged to Beavis and Butt-head, MTV Classic will run the nostalgia gauntlet.
And nostalgia is selling these days.
Pokemon Go. Record collections. Mom jeans. Things really do come full-circle. If we start seeing Tomagotchis on keychains we might have a problem.
While this is a much welcome announcement from MTV—especially from this blogger—it’s par for the course in terms of television networks. Nick at Nite and TV Land have been doing it for decades with success. It’s no surprise they’re all under the Viacom umbrella, which appears to be existing on our longing for days past.
So enjoy, fellow 90’s kids!
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