Downtown (1999 TV series)

Downtown
GenreAnimated sitcom
Created byChris Prynoski
Voices ofGregory Gilmore
Leyora Zuberman
Marco H. Rodriguez
Scot Rienecker
Tammy Lang
Hector Fontanez
Aurora Lucia-Levey
Phoebe Summersquash
ComposerKimson Albert
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerAbby Terkuhle
ProducerDavid McGrath
EditorMatt Miller
Running time22 minutes
Production companyMTV Animation
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseAugust 3 (1999-08-03) –
November 8, 1999 (1999-11-08)

Downtown, also known as MTV Downtown,[1] is an American animated sitcom created by Chris Prynoski that aired on MTV from August 3 to November 8, 1999. The show follows a group of young adults who live in an urban area on East Village of New York City, presenting their everyday lives.

Inspired by Ralph Bakshi's films from the early 1970s, Prynoski in the mid-1990s felt that his films from its time were a time capsule of a culture. He began works on Downtown, for the same effect of what he felt watching about Bakshi's films of the period time, as Downtown years later.

Prynoski had no idea why MTV canceled it after one season, but bad marketing decisions and rerun's inconvenient time slots were speculated for the cause. The sitcom's episode "Before and After" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2000, it got positive reception and reviews from critics and audience in retrospect.

Plot

The show follows a diverse and multiracial group of young adults who live in an urban area on East Village of New York City, and presents their everyday lives. The series is based on interviews with real people.[2][3][4]

Characters

The main characters of Downtown
  • Alex Henson (voiced by Gregory Gilmore) is a nerdy 24-year-old virgin and Chaka's older brother. He harbors a crush on goth girl Serena. Alex sells some of his beloved action figures to make the rent on a lower East Side apartment he took sight unseen.[5]
  • Chaka Henson (voiced by Leyora Zuberman) is Alex's rebellious 17-year-old younger sister.[5]
  • Fruity (voiced by Marco H. Rodriguez) is an Afro-Latino ladies' man who has a crush on Chaka.[5]
  • Scott "Goat" (voiced by Scot Rienecker) is Alex and Jen's stoner friend.[5]
  • Jen (voiced by Tammy Lang) is Alex's chubby, sarcastic Asian-American best friend. She runs a used-clothing shop, with a minimum-wage.[5]
  • Matt (voiced by Hector Fontanez) is Fruity's artsy best friend.[5]
  • Mecca (voiced by Aurora Lucia-Levey) is an African-American hopeless romantic and Chaka's best friend.[5]
  • Serena (voiced by Phoebe Summersquash) is a resident goth girl, and Alex's love interest.[5]
  • Leah (voiced by Rosanna Plasencia) is Jen's promiscuous roommate.[5]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Sin Bin"Tony KluckAnne D. BernsteinAugust 3, 1999 (1999-08-03)

Alex moves into his own apartment, with the help of his friends Jen, Goat, Chaka and Mecca. Selling some of his old action figures, Alex meets his newest infatuation, goth girl Serena, at a comic book store called Starbase 12. Chaka and Mecca, tasked with watching the van, are distracted by boys and the moving van is stolen.

2"Train Pain"Ilya SkorupskyDavid RegalAugust 10, 1999 (1999-08-10)

Chaka and Mecca challenge Fruity and Matt to a battle-of-the-sexes subway race to Coney Island, to determine which subway line goes there the fastest. Meanwhile, Alex and Jen play board games, leading to a big blowup.

3"Hot Spot"Kevin LoftonRachelle RombergAugust 17, 1999 (1999-08-17)

The dive bar on the ground floor of Alex's building is replaced by "Flame", a trendy new club. Chaka and her friends, all underage, sneak into the club to party. The party continues in Alex's apartment, and Alex and Jen try to retaliate against the club.

4"Insomnia"Eugene SalandraJaphet Asher and Peter GaffneyAugust 24, 1999 (1999-08-24)

Alex is set up on a date with Serena, and suffers insomnia from his pre-date anxiety. Wandering around the city streets late at night, he starts hallucinating from lack of sleep, leading to an unexpected encounter with Serena.

5"The Con"Tony KluckErica RothschildAugust 31, 1999 (1999-08-31)

Alex is concerned that his nerdy obsessions with toy collecting and comic book hoarding will drive his dream girl away. At a Horror Convention with his friends, Alex is torn between trying to impress Serena and acquiring a rare action figure to complete his "White Trash" fantasy collection. World Wrestling Federation (WWF) pro-wrestler, The Undertaker, makes a special guest appearance.

6"Graffiti"Kevin LoftonErica RothschildSeptember 7, 1999 (1999-09-07)

Matt goes out for a night of painting graffiti in the subway tunnels with Fruity and Chaka, and finds the city's underground Hall of Fame for graffiti artists. Meanwhile, Alex has a sexually-charged night with Leah, Jen's promiscuous roommate.

7"Hotel Bar"Eugene SalandraEric FriedmanSeptember 14, 1999 (1999-09-14)

Goat takes Alex out for a night of picking up girls, and encourages him to lower his standards, leading to a rough night for both of them. Meanwhile, Jen and Leah have an unfortunate night out as well, as Leah tries to pick up a rich guy. Rev Jen Miller provides the voice of Teeny.

8"Limo"Tony KluckAnne D. BernsteinSeptember 28, 1999 (1999-09-28)

Worried that she hasn't had a date in a long time, Jen impulsively rents a stretch limo for the night, and takes Alex along for the ride. Fruity, Matt, Chaka and Mecca are accosted by a group of tough Catholic school girls in Chinatown.

9"Testing"Pat SmithPeter ElwellOctober 5, 1999 (1999-10-05)

Alex, Chaka, Fruity and Goat take part in a research study about how much they remember their education. Alex tests well, and wonders if he should be more ambitious. Meanwhile, Goat is becoming increasingly unstable and paranoid, but is calmed down by a meeting with an old high school classmate.

10"Night Shift"Eugene SalandraGeorge KrsticOctober 18, 1999 (1999-10-18)

Jen is upset by Serena's effect on Alex and their other nerdy friends, and starts investigating her. Meanwhile, Alex has a hard time working at the copy shop.

11"Before and After"Tony KluckEric FriedmanOctober 25, 1999 (1999-10-25)

Chaka accuses Mecca of copying her style. Jen forces Alex to clean his house, and throw out his toy collection.

12"Cropsey Clanners"Pat SmithDavid RegalNovember 1, 1999 (1999-11-01)

Jen and Alex go collectible-hunting in the New Jersey suburbs, with Chaka and Mecca along for the ride. When the car breaks down, the four share urban legends about rural New Jersey, leading to a freak out.

13"Trip Or Treat"Eugene SalandraRachelle RombergNovember 8, 1999 (1999-11-08)
Alex finally gets the nerve to ask Serena out to a Halloween party.

Production

Development

According to Chris Prynoski, when he watched early-1970s Ralph Bakshi films in the mid-1990s, he felt that his films from that time were "much like a time capsule." This inspired him to create Downtown, "so that when people watch the show 20 years later, it feels exactly like 1999 in New York".[6][7] Prynoski also wanted to show "a line of demarcation where society changed completely" before cell phones and he "wanted to be able to have nostalgia for what doesn't exist now."[6]

Music

Soundtrack of Downtown was composed by Massive Attack and DJ Shadow.[6][8] Music tracks involving drum-and-bass however, was composed by Kimson Albert.[8][9]

Release

Before release of Downtown in January 1999, the show was shown at National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE).[10] It was later released and broadcast 13 episodes of the show,[11] airing from August 3,[5][12] to November 8, 1999,[13] first set in July.[4] Video clips of episodes were also available on its official website.[12]

Prynoski himself was unsure why the show was canceled after one season.[3] But fans speculated that bad marketing decisions and inconvenient time slots for its reruns, caused the cancelation from MTV.[14] Due to licensing issues with the music, the series was never officially physically released on DVD. But in 2007, Chris Prynoski started to sell promotional units of the show for $25. Promoting them through his personal blog.[1][15] All 13 epsiodes of the show sometime later were unoffically released on Youtube.[6][7] T-shirts Merch of the show was also released by Prynoski and Titmouse inc. in 2024, for celebration of the show's 25th anniversary, as it also wasn't officially released from MTV.[1]

Reception

Critical reception

In retrospect series was postily Sarah Nechamkin of Interview called Downtown "The best piece of discarded treasure to come out of the glorious trove of '90s MTV".[7] In a retrospective review for Vulture, Greta Rainbow called it a "Feat of naturalistic dialogue", describing the series as a "hyperspecific time capsule".[6]

Revived interest and audience response

While Downtown did recived lackluster intrest during it's release, a side been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the episode "Before and After" in 2000.[16] During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the show gained larger intrest from the audience in retrospect online, on Youtube and Tiktok.[6][7]

Downtown was ranked in 4th out of 10 place on IMDb for becoming one of the best-rated Animated Series on MTV by July 2021, scoring at out 8.0 of 10.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wilds, Stephen (August 28, 2024). "MTV Downtown Is an Animated Gem Worth Revisiting 25 Years Later". Yahoo Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 162–163. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ a b Queen, Alexis (December 17, 2023). "Why Did the MTV Show 'Downtown' Get Cancelled?". Throwback Pop. Archived from the original on March 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Kilmer, David (July 21, 1999). "MTV sets premiere for DOWNTOWN". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greppi, Michele (August 3, 1999). "MTV TAKES A RIDE 'DOWNTOWN' … WHERE IT'S S-O-O-O UNHIP TO BE HIP". New York Post. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rainbow, Greta (May 7, 2021). "MTV's Downtown Is a Hyperspecific Time Capsule". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d ""Downtown" Is For Stoop Kids Everywhere". Interview. August 4, 2020. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Cattaui, Amina (October 24, 2023). "New Yorkers Reflect On MTV's "Downtown"". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  9. ^ MTV Downtown - Music, MTV, 1999, archived from the original on October 12, 1999, retrieved June 4, 2025
  10. ^ Amidi, Amid (January 26, 1999). "MTV goes "Downtown." at NATPE". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  11. ^ Kilmer, David (July 21, 1999). "MTV sets premiere for DOWNTOWN". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Teninge, Annick (July 29, 1999). "Take an exclusive peek at MTV's new series, "MTV Downtown"". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  13. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 567–568. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  14. ^ Salas, Ro (January 11, 2025). "How MTV's 1999 Show "Downtown" is Finding a New Life Online". The Hornet. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  15. ^ "Animated Manhattan: Downtown". Ironic Sans. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  16. ^ "Outstanding Short Format Animated Program Nominees / Winners 2000". Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  17. ^ Cubillas, Sean (July 3, 2021). "MTV's 10 Best Animated Series, Ranked By IMDb". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
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