MTV Pulls the Plug on Ridiculousness, Eddie Murphy’s Favorite Show
After 14 years, MTV has axed Ridiculousness, the clip-show juggernaut that improbably counted Eddie Murphy as a superfan—he once called it the best show on TV.
Eddie Murphy is about to hit Netflix with a new documentary, and somehow the splashiest takeaway involves MTV, a skateboarder-turned-host, and a mountain of viral fail clips. Yes, really.
So, Eddie Murphy loves Ridiculousness. Like, a lot.
Netflix drops 'Being Eddie' on November 12, and one of the doc's fun surprises is Murphy revealing he is a massive fan of MTV's 'Ridiculousness.' In the trailer, he flat-out calls it:
"the best show on TV"
He's not trolling. Murphy even compares the show's nonstop cavalcade of faceplants and absurdity to the trippy imagery of Alejandro Jodorowsky movies — the idea being that by the time your brain clocks how wild one shot is, the show has already jumped to the next bizarre bit. Unexpected comparison, but honestly, not wrong.
About that show he loves: MTV is canceling it
After 14 years, MTV is pulling the plug on 'Ridiculousness,' the long-running clip series hosted by Rob Dyrdek. The thing has cranked out around 1,700 episodes and, according to THR, has been so omnipresent that nearly half of MTV's schedule is just... this one show. That stat explains a lot about the channel's vibe the last decade-plus.
Why end it now? The network's new owners, Skydance, reportedly want to steer MTV back toward a more curated programming identity tied to the channel's past. That could mean a swing toward something closer to the music channel era or a return to the 2000s-style reality run — think 'The Hills' and 'Jersey Shore.' The explanation is very corporate-strategy-speak, but the intent seems clear: less wall-to-wall clip-show marathons, more programmed variety.
- Doc drop: 'Being Eddie' hits Netflix on November 12
- Murphy's take: calls 'Ridiculousness' "the best show on TV" in the trailer and likens its rapid-fire chaos to Jodorowsky
- The show: hosted by Rob Dyrdek, built on viral clips, launched in 2011, roughly 1,700 episodes
- The end: MTV is canceling it after a 14-year run
- Why: Skydance wants a more curated lineup that nods to MTV's roots
- How gone is it, really: reruns stay on MTV, unaired episodes are still rolling out, and it's streaming on Paramount+
Will 'Ridiculousness' actually disappear?
Not really. The library is sticking around in reruns, there are still new episodes that haven't premiered yet, and the whole thing lives on Paramount+. And I would not be shocked if Dyrdek spins up a version of this somewhere else, even under a new title. The format is simple, the production is relatively cheap, and the brand is basically built for the internet if it ever wants to go fully online-only.
In the meantime, Eddie's about to praise a show that his favorite network just iced. Timing is a funny thing.
Thoughts on MTV canceling 'Ridiculousness'? Drop them in the comments.