Prime Time Animation Celebration: MTV's Daria

 

Welcome to Prime Time Animation Celebration! As previously announced, I will be spending the foreseeable future at the blog on examining forgotten, obscure, or just not-talked-about prime time animation aimed at an adult audience. I'll be shying away from mega-successful series like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy etc., as they are still in the public eye. I think focusing on the forgotten ones is more fun!

This week, I'm starting with the series that inspired this feature, MTV's Daria. I know this isn't exactly forgotten or obscure, but it finished its run a long time ago and deserves greater conversion than it gets today.

Daria, a spin-off of the very successful Beavis and Butthead, debuted on March 3, 1997 and ended its run on January 21, 2002. Although a spin-off of B and B, that show's creator, Mike Judge, did not have involvement in the development or production of the series. In this spin-off, Daria's family moves to a new town, and we are introduced to Daria's family, her one friend Jane, and a variety of oddball high school students and teachers, all of whom become victim to Daria's biting cynicism and sarcasm.

I was a huge fan of Beavis and Butthead, but I missed out on Daria during its run on MTV; I didn't watch it until I discovered it as an offering on streamer Paramount+ in the winter and early spring of 2024. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even if I found Daria herself a bit TOO cynical and biting at times. She may have been surrounded by lunkheads, but she wasn't exactly perfect herself! At least she starts to realize that towards the end of the series. I also enjoyed several of the other characters, notably Jane and even Quinn, the popularity-chasing younger sister. She was smarter than she let on, and towards the end of the show, she started to realize that being popular was not as important as supporting her family and valuing herself as a person.

I'm glad I finally got around to seeing the show, and I wished I had given it a try during its initial run. I didn't avoid it on purpose; I just had a lot going on at the time. Better late than never.

Here is a collection of Daria's greatest lines, as well as an "interview" with CBS This Morning host Jane Clayson from 2002. Enjoy! Let me know what you thought of the series in the comments.

I'll see you next week with another animated find. Thanks!