MTV
If you’ve tuned into MTV in recent years, you’re likely aware the network airs a truly ridiculous amount of Ridiculousness, and it’s come to dominate the channel to the point where the writers tasked with whipping up the jokes Rob Dyrdek and his co-hosts deliver are pushing for a change.
While MTV spent the first couple of decades of its existence living up to the “Music Television” moniker, it slowly but surely began to pivot in the early 2000s with the help of the reality television shows that were taking the world by storm.
MTV had previously experienced plenty of success in that realm after The Real World debuted in 1992, but it started to expand its horizons with the likes of Cribs, Punk’d, Pimp My Ride, and hilariously corny dating programs like Next and Room Raiders.
In 2006, MTV aired the first episode of Rob & Big, which primarily revolved around the misadventures of professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and his bodyguard Christopher “Big Black” Boykin as well as the the members of the crew who roamed the former’s “Fantasy Factory.”
In 2011, Dyrdek linked up with Chanel West Coast and Sterling “Steelo” Brim at the helm of Ridiculousness, the clip show built on a foundation of internet videos that largely fall under the “Epic Fail” umbrella.
As things currently stand, Ridiculousness has lasted for a grand total of 34 seasons while spawning more than 1,200 episodes that largely revolve around Dyrdek and Co. cracking jokes whipped up by a team of writers who are apparently a bit tired of carrying MTV on their back.
According to Deadline, the people who help Ridiculousness pump out more than 300 episodes on a yearly basis are currently pushing to unionize in the midst of the WGA writer’s strike with a list of conditions calling for a higher salary, increased residuals, and (most interestingly) “a call for MTV to order more shows rather than just rely on the Rob Dyrdek-fronted title.”
Based on the sheer amount of Ridiculousness MTV airs on a regular basis, it’s kind of hard to blame them.