A new cable channel celebrating the original MTV will launch on Aug. 1, in honor of its 35th birthday, according to a press release. MTV Classic is replacing VH1 Classic at 6 a.m. that day, airing fan-favorite TV shows from its heyday along with classic music videos.
Among the shows airing regularly on MTV Classic are animated comedies like Beavis & Butt-Head, Daria and Clone High, along with stylized action cartoon Aeon Flux. All four went on to become cult hits with ‘90s kids and millennials alike, with Beavis & Butt-Head even returning for a new season of episodes in 2011.
Some of MTV’s modern-day detractors may bristle at other programming, like marathons of Laguna Beach and The Real World. Alongside the non-music-related television, however, will be reruns of music video-heavy shows like Total Request Live and the popular MTV Unplugged performances.
Back in March, MTV’s owner Viacom announced that the aging channel would soon receive a "significant re-imagining." The look back to the past resembles a tactic used to bring nostalgic viewers back to sister network Nickeloden as well. The cartoon channel began showing older cartoons like Hey Arnold, Rugrats and Rocko’s Modern Life again during The Splat, a nightly programming block on the TeenNick channel, last fall.
