22 minSeason 1 • Episode 13
LatestAlex finally gets up the nerve to ask Serena out, but when she decides to drop the Goth look, Alex must deal with the question: does he really like her or her outfit?
Downtown is an animated series on MTV on urban life, based on interviews with real people. The show follows a diverse and multiracial cast who live in New York City, and presents their everyday lives through quirky, humorous, and imaginative perspectives from the characters. It was created by Chris Prynoski, a former animator on Beavis and Butt-Head and produced by David McGrath. In 2000, Downtown was nominated for an Emmy in the category of outstanding animated program. Downtown faced a similar fate to many of MTV's other cartoons - it only lasted one season. The use of an original score rather than licensed music makes a sanctioned DVD release unlikely. Some of the show's staff have gone on to work on the action animated series Megas XLR, which uses the same quirky humor found in Downtown as well as the character Goat, reprised by Scott Rienecker.
Direction
Prynoski's raw interview-to-animation pipeline.
Writing
Dialogue so natural it hurts—because it's real.
Score
Original music that doomed its own commercial release.
Creator
Chris Prynoski
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Goat from Megas XLR originated here, voiced by the same actor—Scott Rienecker's weird energy is eternal.
This and Clone High represent MTV Animation's brief golden age of creator-driven experiments, killed by corporate pivot to reality TV.
US
