Downtown (1999 TV series)

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.{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |pages=162–163}}{{Cite web |last=Queen |first=Alexis |date=2023-12-17 |title=Why Did the MTV Show 'Downtown' Get Cancelled? |url=https://throwbackpop.com/why-did-the-mtv-show-downtown-get-cancelled/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309171153/https://throwbackpop.com/why-did-the-mtv-show-downtown-get-cancelled/ |archive-date=2024-03-09 |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Throwback Pop}}{{Cite news |last=Kilmer |first=David |date=1999-07-21 |title=MTV sets premiere for DOWNTOWN |url=https://www.awn.com/news/mtv-sets-premiere-downtown |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110224057/https://www.awn.com/news/mtv-sets-premiere-downtown |archive-date=2024-11-10 |access-date=2025-06-04 |work=Animation World Network |language=en}}

• 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.{{Cite web |last=Greppi |first=Michele |date=1999-08-03 |title=MTV TAKES A RIDE ‘DOWNTOWN’ … WHERE IT’S S-O-O-O UNHIP TO BE HIP |url=https://nypost.com/1999/08/03/mtv-takes-a-ride-downtown-where-its-s-o-o-o-unhip-to-be-hip/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012000531/https://nypost.com/1999/08/03/mtv-takes-a-ride-downtown-where-its-s-o-o-o-unhip-to-be-hip/ |archive-date=2013-10-12 |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=New York Post |language=en-US}}
• Chaka Henson (voiced by Leyora Zuberman) is Alex's rebellious 17-year-old younger sister.
• Fruity (voiced by Marco H. Rodriguez) is an Afro-Latino ladies' man who has a crush on Chaka.
• Scott "Goat" (voiced by Scot Rienecker) is Alex and Jen's stoner friend.
• Jen (voiced by Tammy Lang) is Alex's chubby, sarcastic Asian-American best friend.
• Matt (voiced by Hector Fontanez) is Fruity's artsy best friend.
• Mecca (voiced by Aurora Lucia-Levey) is an African-American hopeless romantic and Chaka's best friend.
• Serena (voiced by Phoebe Summersquash) is a resident goth girl, and Alex's love interest.
• Leah (voiced by Rosanna Plasencia) is Jen's promiscuous roommate.

{{Episode table |background=#575A4E |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |country=US |episodes={{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Sin Bin | DirectedBy = Tony Kluck | WrittenBy = Anne D. Bernstein | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|8|3}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Train Pain | DirectedBy = Ilya Skorupsky | WrittenBy = David Regal | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|8|10}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = Hot Spot | DirectedBy = Kevin Lofton | WrittenBy = Rachelle Romberg | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|8|17}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = Insomnia | DirectedBy = Eugene Salandra | WrittenBy = Japhet Asher and Peter Gaffney | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|8|24}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = The Con | DirectedBy = Tony Kluck | WrittenBy = Erica Rothschild | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|8|31}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Graffiti | DirectedBy = Kevin Lofton | WrittenBy = Erica Rothschild | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|9|7}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 7 | Title = Hotel Bar | DirectedBy = Eugene Salandra | WrittenBy = Eric Friedman | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|9|14}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 8 | Title = Limo | DirectedBy = Tony Kluck | WrittenBy = Anne D. Bernstein | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|9|28}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 9 | Title = Testing | DirectedBy = Pat Smith | WrittenBy = Peter Elwell | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|10|5}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 10 | Title = Night Shift | DirectedBy = Eugene Salandra | WrittenBy = George Krstic | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|10|18}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 11 | Title = Before and After | DirectedBy = Tony Kluck | WrittenBy = Eric Friedman | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|10|25}} | ShortSummary = Chaka accuses Mecca of copying her style. Jen forces Alex to clean his house, and throw out his toy collection.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 12 | Title = Cropsey Clanners | DirectedBy = Pat Smith | WrittenBy = David Regal | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|11|1}} | ShortSummary = 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.

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| LineColor = 575A4E }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 13 | Title = Trip Or Treat | DirectedBy = Eugene Salandra | WrittenBy = Rachelle Romberg | OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1999|11|8}} | ShortSummary = Alex finally gets the nerve to ask Serena out to a Halloween party.

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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".{{Cite web |last=Rainbow |first=Greta |date=2021-05-07 |title=MTV's Downtown Is a Hyperspecific Time Capsule |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/downtown-mtv-1999-grunge.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605175145/https://www.vulture.com/article/downtown-mtv-1999-grunge.html |archive-date=June 5, 2022 |access-date=2022-06-05 |website=Vulture}} 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."

Soundtarck of Downtown was composed by Massive Attack and DJ Shadow.{{Cite web |last=Cattaui |first=Amina |date=2023-10-24 |title=New Yorkers Reflect On MTV’s “Downtown” |url=http://www.michigandaily.com/arts/b-side/then-and-now-we-will-always-be-downtown/ |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=The Michigan Daily |language=en-US}} Music tracks involving drum-and-bass however, was composed by Kimson Albert.{{Citation |title=MTV Downtown - Music |date=1999 |url=http://mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/animation/downtown/music.html |access-date=2025-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012032936/http://mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/animation/downtown/music.html |archive-date=1999-10-12 |url-status=dead |publisher=MTV |language=en}}

Before release of Downtown in January of 1999, the show was shown at National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE).{{Cite news |last=Amidi |first=Amid |date=1999-01-26 |title=MTV goes “Downtown.” at NATPE |url=https://www.awn.com/news/mtv-goes-downtown-natpe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727220041/http://www.awn.com/news/mtv-goes-downtown-natpe |archive-date=2015-07-27 |access-date=2025-06-04 |work=Animation World Network |language=en}} It was later released and broadcast 13 episodes of the show,{{Cite web |last=Kilmer |first=David |date=1999-07-21 |title=MTV sets premiere for DOWNTOWN |url=https://www.awn.com/news/mtv-sets-premiere-downtown |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110224057/https://www.awn.com/news/mtv-sets-premiere-downtown |archive-date=2024-11-10 |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=Animation World Network |language=en}} airing from August 3,{{Cite news |last=Teninge |first=Annick |date=1999-07-29 |title=Take an exclusive peek at MTV's new series, "MTV Downtown" |url=https://www.awn.com/news/take-exclusive-peek-mtvs-new-series-mtv-downtown |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218045846/https://www.awn.com/news/take-exclusive-peek-mtvs-new-series-mtv-downtown |archive-date=2022-02-18 |access-date=2025-06-04 |work=Animation World Network |language=en}} to November 8, 1999,{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |edition=2nd |pages=567–568}} first set in July. Video clips of episodes were also available on it's offical website.

Prynoski himself is unsure why the show was canceled after one season.

Sarah Nechamkin of Interview called Downtown "The best piece of discarded treasure to come out of the glorious trove of '90s MTV".{{Cite web |date=2020-08-04 |title="Downtown" Is For Stoop Kids Everywhere |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/downtown-mtv-cartoon-into-90s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519221615/https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/downtown-mtv-cartoon-into-90s |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |access-date=2022-06-05 |magazine=Interview}} In a retrospective review for Vulture, Greta Rainbow called it a "Feat of naturalistic dialogue", describing the series as a "hyperspecific time capsule".

In 2000, Downtown was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the episode "Before and After".{{Cite web |title=Outstanding Short Format Animated Program Nominees / Winners 2000 |url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2000/outstanding-short-format-animated-program |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717010408/http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2000/outstanding-short-format-animated-program |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=April 14, 2016}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite news |last=Greppi |first=Michele |date=August 3, 1999 |title=MTV Takes A Ride Downtown...Where It's S-o-o-o Unhip To Be Hip |url=https://nypost.com/1999/08/03/mtv-takes-a-ride-downtown-where-its-s-o-o-o-unhip-to-be-hip/ |work=MTV's Downtown |location=NY Post |access-date=November 12, 2017}}

• {{IMDb title}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20000229120711/http://www.mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/animation/downtown/index.html Official website] at MTV

{{MTV Animation}}

{{MTVNetwork Shows}}

Category:1990s American adult animated television series

Category:1990s American animated comedy television series

Category:1990s American sitcoms

Category:1999 American animated television series debuts

Category:1999 American television series endings

Category:American adult animated comedy television series

Category:American animated sitcoms

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:American teen animated television series

Category:Animated television series set in New York City

Category:MTV cartoons

Category:Television series created by Chris Prynoski

Category:Television series created by George Krstic