Aries Spears Explains MadTV Exit, Talks Landing Show

[@VenVile]

Aries Spears, Debra Wilson, Mo Collins, Michael McDonald, Stephnie Weir, Alex Borstein, Will Sasso, Phil Lamar, Nicole Sullivan, Pat Kilbane, Bobby Lee and later Crista Flanagan. They were the glue of MADTV! That was their best cast, in my opinion. Keegan-Michael Key was gold on that show as well!

[@thuglifejesus2673]

Facts..The original cast was full of comedic geniuses..Mo Collins, Aries, and Will Sasso were my favorites

[@ernestbrown2687]

Don't for get ike, orlando jones, frank

[@theernalrealestategroupatk707]

Ike Barinholtz,Jordan Peele and Orlando Jones.

[@thuglifejesus2673]

I forgot Stephanie Weir was one the best too

[@roemellobell]

The dream team

[@rotcivagetro]

I used to pick mad over snl that first cast was lethal!!!

[@jaymeeification]

He looka like a man

[@the4thson262]

Me to it was the best

[@the4thson262]

@Leo L that was to funny

[@blueh9]

True

[@CiaobellaAmour]

Victor Ortega indeed they were killing it

[@lewjones3]

I can't bullshit him.. Aries was part of the best MadTv lineup ever

[@stunnaboycodotcom]

He was da stand out star on there, no body else stood out on that dam sho

[@VIi726]

stunnaboycodotcom I fucked with will Sasso too

[@gquick]

@@VIi726 sasso was that dude

[@rashanthompson5462]

You are fine lew

[@TheCarlScharnberg]

Mad TV does not get the recognition it deserves; at its best it was a lot better than SNL, and still is today. Truly an iconic show, with some seriously talented comics/actors and writers. I rarely laugh at an SNL sketch, so I never really got the hype (although I understand that the first generation was iconic), but Mad TV was hilarious - especially in its prime. It was also more "daring" in its humour, and reminds me more of In Livin' Color than SNL in that respect. They should all be proud to have been on it. Great show!

[@JamesASharp]

Yep. I recently saw an interview with Mo Collins and Bobby Lee. Even she said that Mad TV was treated like the bastard child of FOX. It is what it is.

[@RellyRell-ud3iz]

Facts

[@suwu916]

I loved madtv I used to stay up late just to watch it evey Saturday night

[@CrustofCreation]

Same!

[@Josco31]

Same!

[@grizzthegreen4500]

Same here, had to sit through American most wanted and Cops.

[@MrHoldbrook]

I tried to stay up past that to watch tales from the crypt..didn’t have hbo

[@grizzthegreen4500]

@@MrHoldbrook tells of the crypt came on, and that dead skeleton jumped out the coffin I had to leave the room immediately, I'm out. Good luck trying to sleep.

[@CharlesMosley129]

MadTV was to me in the late 1990's and early 2000's what Saturday Night Live was in the 1970's. the cast from 1997 to 2003 were rock stars in my opinion. I was a teenager then and MadTV was appointment tv every Saturday night at 11pm. those were great years.

[@Unkle_Mike]

Darth Decider it definitely had that edge

[@DjEgore661]

Darth Decider well said

[@sithsoldier98]

💯

[@CiaobellaAmour]

Totally agree🔥🔥

[@smpage09]

Yep that’s how I spent my Saturday nights middle school through high school

[@SeanPerez]

I wish you would have asked him more question about MADtv. It's the most underrated show of it's time.

[@rebelsouljaz]

Underrated? It was actually very popular...

[@CarynDPrescott]

This is only part of the interview. They show it in bits and pieces like Vlad.

[@agthaog1986]

Aries, debra and Nicole were soo needed. Once they left i pretty much left

[@greenrobot5]

Will Sasso, Alex Borstein, and Mo Collins

[@agthaog1986]

@@greenrobot5 yeah them too but not az much honestly...agree tho

[@Gregdagawd32]

MadTv was better than SNL

[@Gregdagawd32]

@NeverMindGaming you make no sense. There are a lot of shows no longer on TV that were funny. Just being good and funny doesn't keep you on the air

[@SKOTxFREE]

Greg DaGawd yeah especially on Fox. It comes down to viewers and ad revenue. If a show doesn’t pull in that money trust me it will get canceled, period.

[@Cj-hj6rm]

Greg DaTawd an with better opening intro

[@Cj-hj6rm]

@NeverMindGaming SNL is being carried by celebs , otherwise it would've got cancelled too

[@tmzebe530]

Each one has/had been funnier than the other in different eras. Overall I’d roll wit mad tho. Aries is right tho he was right in the middle of mad prime. Got good a couple yrs before he got there, fell off a couple years after he left.

[@BrodieLTW]

Yo, when he used to play Mase and the other guy was Puff. Used to have me dying

[@conejoxx2095]

Who remembers him playing DMX MOM and him and DMX just start BARKING outta nowhere 😂

[@TRUTHHURTS1.]

I got to find that Episode that sound funny 😂

[@conejoxx2095]

@@TRUTHHURTS1. check it out i was busting up

[@TRUTHHURTS1.]

@@conejoxx2095 gotcha... I'll reply back after I watch it...

[@JJ-fq4nl]

I lost both of my lungs, my diaphragm, almost my urine on that 🤣😭🤣

[@CarynDPrescott]

Here it is kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnecmYxvf8mJnbs

[@JB-gc6jo]

Yea he not wrong about that madtv was my shit but it did fall off

[@SKOTxFREE]

Yep it even happened to In Living Color when the Network started poking its nose into what they were doing. Honestly it happened to SNL too but NBC has a major Hard on for that show.

[@TRJ2241987]

FOX pulled the budget out from under MadTV's feet.....it got so bad by the last season Bobby Lee was playing John McCain because the cast didn't even have any white dudes left in it

[@Cj-hj6rm]

@Marvin Santana FACTS Can't even remember a damn thing on that show .

[@Cj-hj6rm]

@@TRJ2241987 lol damn

[@peacheskong2245]

I need the entire MadTV cast on this couch. They had no chill for anyone...their impressions were always on point. What I like so much about them was their commitment to their roles, which Key and Peele were able to built on and I think which separates MadTV from so many other shows. They pissed off lots of Hollywoodians with their sketches tho lmao

[@jfrazier3393]

His Bobby brown and Shaquille o'neal impersonations was hilarious.

[@Cj-hj6rm]

@@jfrazier3393 I like his Snoop impressions too Plus those Stewart & Kenny Rogers skits

[@ExistNNature]

MADTV's early season was funny..

[@kenterminateddq5311]

MADTV with Will Sasso was better and arguably, the best.

[@homiejoe1989]

BOBBY LEE OF COURSE MICHAEL MCDONALD AS STUART YOU CAN'T FORGET DOTT AND OF COURSE MISS SWAN

[@Deenique16]

Very classic.

[@Deenique16]

@@homiejoe1989 they really should of made a mrs Swann movie

[@homiejoe1989]

@@Deenique16 RIGHT THAT WOULD B KOOL

[@lowpolyverse425]

Aries interviews are always entertaining!

[@Cj-hj6rm]

Ikr 👀

[@GMZee559]

I remember watching mad tv after Americas Most Wanted

[@micmaliss]

I love this brother. Very humble. Too real for Hollywood. MadTV during the seasons of Spears, McDonald, Weir, and Wilson were absolutely platinum at best. It was better than In Living Color after season 2. They really picked up where ILC fell off. Then Chappelle picked up where MadTV fell off. No one has picked it up since Chappelle.

[@heavyhanded1782]

A humble man doesn't make excuses for all of his downfalls....

[@micmaliss]

@@heavyhanded1782 What excuses did he make?

[@heavyhanded1782]

@@micmaliss did you not watch the interview from yesterday or the day before?

[@heavyhanded1782]

Hell or the one that was posted today talking shit about Kevin Hart.....

[@micmaliss]

@@heavyhanded1782 Not since the first one released. I did not even get an update. I'll check it out and hit you back.

[@VenVile]

MadTV was a lot funnier than SNL!

[@SKOTxFREE]

IamVenVile yeah it really was. Am I mistaken or did Mad TV actually have 2 runs? I remember at one point when it first came on Roseanne Barr was the executive producer which I think was for 1 episode,then it got its regular run and she wasn’t involved any more and the show was kind of different.

[@C-Lyfe85]

Colon cancer is funnier than Saturday Night Live.

[@Deenique16]

Yep at one point and time

[@takerdust]

@@SKOTxFREE I think it was on TBS 2-3 years ago. It wasn't as edgy as the FOX one, but it was better than most stuff on TV.

[@C-Lyfe85]

@NeverMindGaming Because they knew when to bow out gracefully. Before the show got really bad. SNL on the other hand.

[@Wendyfans]

Madtv early to mid seasons were the bomb

[@gregjackson5199]

I use to watch madtv late at nights then tales from the crypt would come on

[@williamalva2826]

It's a small world after all

[@gregjackson5199]

@POTTY MOUF DOOM it was on fox in Detroit in the late 90s but it was on those other channels too I remember syfy was the shit back then

[@gregjackson5199]

@Jihad Da God yeen lien my uncle had the big dumb ass satellite in the back yard he had all the channels

[@amberdelivered06]

@POTTY MOUF DOOM it was on fox. I ain't have cable so I was able to watch it on fox.

[@stunnaboycodotcom]

😂

[@joeford860]

I liked the Shaq impressions.

[@C.kirk1287]

When he, will sasso, and Micheal McDonald left it wasn’t the same 💯3-6 seasons of Mad TV were amazing 🙌🏽

[@bowade9332]

Michael stayed way passed season 6

[@toddstarks226]

Keegan was absolutely, one of the best as well

[@lowend275]

I always watched madtv over Saturday night live.

[@MrKellyELA]

I was definitely a MadTV Stan! They gave me some of the best laughs of my entire life. My early teenage Saturday nights were dedicated to them.

[@cancel.lgbtq.6892]

Mad tv was really good back in late 90's. I miss that show. It wasnt the same when they tried to reboot it. They really had great casts and great writers. My favorite was Ms. Swann.

[@mellawson5807]

I used to watch MadTV more than SNL..

[@JB-gc6jo]

See now I like this. I’ve never heard this story from him

[@arrjee9474]

Jimmy Johns He’s an intelligent guy and knows how to break things down and explain it.

[@robynhardy1822]

I loved MadTV! 😊

[@brionbraziel7968]

Aries always did his thing, I salute his talent.

[@TheSavageBountyHunter]

MADtv was So much better than SNL.. I miss the original cast

[@changunn]

His dolomite was hilarious!!!

[@cushe83]

From 95 to 2000 Mad tv was untouchable. The new In living color. It fell HARD when the writers came to the forefront instead of the performers. When Deborah left it was a wrap. Aries was the last funny person left on that show after a while.

[@lewjones3]

I was done when Keye and Peele came in.. it got whack

[@ScarlettFevers]

Lewis Jones it was done b4 that

[@harrisb5506]

Bobby Lee, Nicole Parker, and Key and Peele held that show together in the later seasons. The earlier seasons were still the best though.

[@jrno93]

The early seasons were too crazy nothing made sense sometimes. After season 6 is when skits starting getting clever and raw. Some were still stupid but the show had better flow

[@GabeTheGreat]

The Chapelle Show & Madtv are my two favorite sketch comedy shows

[@ghanasoul]

From the first time i saw him on Def Comedy Jam, I always knew Aries had that “Eddie Murphy plan” in his head. He was heavily influenced by him with the impressions and stuff. He thought his career was gonna go exactly like Eddie’s. Aries has nothin to be down about though cuz he did somethin most comics never get to do: be on TV on a hit sketch show and be a success as a stand up comic.

[@SeanPerez]

And isn't it weird that a lot of MADtv stars are now beginning big TV Show/Film stars lol. It's incredible!

[@saturncrush]

Sean Perez Yes! Just right now Madtv people are starting to blow in other media and platforms. It was so epic to see an in Living Color and Madtv Alumni share the same stage on that All in the Family live stage performance.

[@GGman2019]

his Dolomite skits are classic

[@LiTTLeDizZyUriNe]

Aries Spears and Debra Wilson doing Bobby and Whitney was some legendary shit. That original cast was something special

[@icaliver]

Madtv will always be legendary because the fact is that brand comedy can’t be done today. It’s a shame they didn’t release those seasons though.

[@E7T39E]

iCaliver what’s brand comedy?

[@icaliver]

@@E7T39E like Physical comedy, political comedy, parody, etc, madtv did it right. SNL was to a little too clean cut in their to try to be daring as MadTv.

[@greyfirestone5119]

He was hilarious with Debra Wilson doing Reality Check

[@JunkionMarnot2005]

Wow....Aries would’ve been a S1 cast member. He really did make a mark on that series. I liken it to this: if SNL was Motorola, MadTV was Apple. It was SNL and In Living Color fused.

[@CiaobellaAmour]

Aries interviews are always so dope & real 🙌🏾

[@willthomas2310]

It's funny....Of all the years MadTV was on the air, strangely I've never got into the show. Now being in my 30's i find myself, going back and watching old skits on youtube. I'm on the verge of buying the seasons on DVD now lol

[@JamesASharp]

Mad TV is on HBO MAX. In my opinion, Mad TV's best years was from seasons 3-11.

[@derogotti3104]

HE HAD THE BEST IMPRESSIONS EVA

[@ExistNNature]

True, he's still good.

[@arrjee9474]

I like this interview. He explained and pointed out things I didn’t know.

[@CrustofCreation]

He is so underrated. I'd like to see his standup live👏

[@waterthugs]

Dude is hilarious. Some him at the Improv

[@isidrosalas5088]

Trash

[@BuffProductionHD]

Mad still blows everything out of the water

[@VilaToro64]

So much talent on mad tv

[@saturncrush]

I love this! Very educational!

[@t_2_da_y]

So motha fuckin underrated man. Hope his career takes off again

[@revekat2053]

👀

[@itinavarait]

My Saturday night line up as a kid was FOX Cops, America's Most Wanted, then Mad TV

[@DigitalXrisXros]

i went to a few tapings and got some signatures ☺️ and danced on set before. goodtimes

[@MsBaileyLayne]

I was a huge home improvement watcher

[@RudolphManor]

In Living Color & Mad TV Are The Best! FUCK SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! 💯

[@toikutoassumi8381]

Majority of the cast of madtv deserves way more than what they are in the present. Sad that they aren't well known where as many people from SNL are big. Madtv itself deserves more than what it sadly is today (a gem of a show underrated and almost forgotten). Its also really sad that stars like Deborah Wilson and Jordan Peele left on bad terms with the show.

[@BrianAwesome]

... Imagine if Aries Spears was on MADtv in the first two seasons?

[@lescw3293]

Spears and Steinberg podcast is phenomenal

[@sachitz4969]

One of my favorite channels

[@danielrobinson9270]

The history I learn watching COMEDY HYPE. Didn't know Aries Spears was connected to the shows he mentioned. I never knew DL Hugley was the warm up act for Fresh Prince. And...I never knew Debbie Allen's husband was a manager for comedians. Great interview.

[@cupcakejonez7923]

I remember s👀ing Aries on that show on CBS that only aired 1 time.

[@mew10521]

I miss Madtv

[@Life_moreabundantly]

Aries = Legend👑💯✔

[@sick2wb]

This dude has been funny longer than most people who commented. MadTV was my shit. If you can get your hands on the episodes, they are still worth watching in 2021. Even more now.

[@haydeem1525]

Season 3-9 or 10 was the best

[@hendersonsobers396]

MadTV was crazy funny.

[@JamesASharp]

From seasons 3-11, Mad TV destroyed SNL. Spears is a Mad TV legend.

[@1983jcheat]

One of my sketch comedy heroes. This Cat is similar to Katt Williams "Too real" for most people. That's the Jersey in him.

[@michaelthomas4275]

His prank calls are legendary

[@tonistark33]

Aries Spears was the reason I watched Madtv

[@ewandric]

Really like Aries' wisdom on this one.

[@garthleadon8483]

In my humble opinion there best seasons were 1999-2000 and March 2004 - September 2004-May 2005

[@livinghaiti1098]

Bro, that is very specific

[@garthleadon8483]

@@livinghaiti1098 Yes can remember some very classic stuff during those seasons. Also that one season they got to have frank do his George W Bush stuff along with Michael McDonald's John Kerry impersonation. You really had a blend of Def Jam, Living Color with SNL, Boys in the Hall comedy during that time.

[@wileyr4]

Nah. I was a writer there and I think the first three seasons were the BEST! When we got popular the network started meddling, cutting budgets, etc. Relying on characters with corny catch phrases and trying to create franchise characters. As writers we had deeper, harder-hitting stuff that couldn’t get to air. I wrote a sketch where Autumn Jackson had to publicly rescind her lawsuit against Bill Cosby but she looked and talked just like him but they wouldn’t do it because of Bill’s relationship with Quincy Jones, who was an executive producer of MAD TV. It got pretty frustrating and I just wanted to leave. ..

[@garthleadon8483]

@@wileyr4 Unbelievable!!! So Aries started there during the third season 97-98? Do you still hangout with him? Also did he really try to get Paul Mooney on the show as a writer?

[@wileyr4]

@@garthleadon8483 Yeah. He started in 97 with me. I don't hang out with him. And yes! He DID try to get Mooney there! I tried to get Mooney on a show that I was developing around the same time.

[@southsea8252]

That's the true essence of Eddie

[@HIMSELF157]

Underrated comment. Party all the time

[@MrEOM41]

You are now watching Madtv!! 🎶🎵😏

[@JFKjr-gp7lf]

He played himself on Jerry Maguire 😂😂

[@cupcakejonez7923]

South of Sunset is the tv show i was thinking of......Aries wasn't lying cause i only saw 1 episode.😮📺🍿😂🤣🤔

[@F_And]

TK Kirkland got Aries his first deal

[@paulwayne3881]

Take that shit to Vlad 😀😀😀

[@brownbeautyxoxo7442]

@@paulwayne3881 lmao

[@leonardogarrido]

You can't forget the Bobby Brown , Dot, miss swan, Latifah Laquifa Jackson , Lancome lady

[@vanessacastillo5454]

love madtv. Love aries spears , debra wilson , will sasso , etc .there will never be another madtv it's ashame it's bitter sweet atleast i grew up watching it 😍❤😌😂😅🎬📺

[@JamesASharp]

Wow! You nailed it Spears. Like I said, from seasons 3-11, Mad TV destroyed SNL. But, you could tell that the show was changing for the worse after season 8.

[@homiejoe1989]

I LOVE IT WHEN HE DOES SHAQ THAT SHIT KILLZ ME HAHAHA

[@nicolangot]

He sounds like he's in character

[@philuntaysterling3874]

If only aries and Orlando could have been on the show at the same time them along with debra,Phil,will and nicole would have been a power house

[@SKOTxFREE]

Aries is not lying....When Mad TV first came on it was a great show but it seems as time went on it just got worse and worse. Who remembers “CLOPS” or “The ReignFather”? Lmao I’m lmao just thinking about those Claymation skits.

[@homiejoe1989]

I HAVE A QUESTION 4 ALL OF U WHICH SHOWS DO YOU THINK IS BETTER?? AND BE HONEST 1} MAD TV 2} SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 3} LIVING COLOR THAT THE GAMEZ BEGIN

[@drejackson4882]

In living color Mad TV SNL

[@23kppadilla]

Mad tv

[@jacorymatthews5024]

Why does it sound like you’re interviewing him while he’s in a studio booth?

[@MrColatown]

Probably the echo from the room he's in and the microphone is near his mouth.

[@newjewdicialsystem7412]

I just want Aries Spears' confidence

[@maedelelawhorn9738]

I bet he could imitate jadakiss verbatim. Same gravelly type voice

[@maedelelawhorn9738]

@bee boo lol. What does that mean. U ain't feelin jadakiss?

[@gushardware1647]

Must be nigerian

[@jamescarter3196]

It sounded like he said he was on MadTV for eleven years but he was only on from 1997-2005... eight years. He left before the eleventh season. I appreciate that the period he was on the show had a lot of good material, but I really don't agree that it was 'falling off' around the time he left. Sketch shows are inherently inconsistent, and that gets worse when there's major cast changes but it doesn't mean 'it's over' if new people are picking up the pieces. It was re-forming into its final incarnation, and it was still great for quite a few years after he left, even if he was 'done' with it himself.

[@BrianAwesome]

@Comedy Hype,.. ppPPLEASE interview the enTIRE cast of MadTV.

[@sofia69153]

I think they should have put him in charge when everything turned to shit he's the one that made mad tv and Saturday night live what it is if it wasn't for him and the Wayne's and sister amd Jim Carrey it would be nothing .he is one of my all times favorite comedy's...I watch one of he's clips everyday thank you to all you comedy's for making people laugh and putting joy into people's heart

[@adagiobreeze8493]

Mad TV wasn’t afraid to go there, SNL was better at kissing asses which is probably why they’re still around

[@Nick_Nightingale]

When Debra and Aries left Mad TV I stopped watching the show.

[@shaggyajao5685]

Aries spears and Debra Wilson and the guy who play Stuart was my favorite on Mad tv!

[@priestmorrison6564]

Do more of DAT!!! Talk about life BEFORE da hate! Cause the other shit is....

[@BadBoyBobby85]

It was over before he left, not literally but it had winded down already. I don't even remember him not being on the last season, I don't think anyone was left

[@afrodude4782]

Anyone else feel that if Aries jit the gym, muscled up and got rid of that gut, it would help his career a lil' bit?

[@BlueRazor69]

The Madtv cast got a raw deal. There were so many great cast members. None of them ever really ‘made it’. That’s a damn shame. My friends and I all like madtv better than SNL.

[@Oceansideca1987]

Mad Tv was the best

[@dc4ever967]

I love both shows but who do ya got Mad TV or In living Color?

[@joeymorvant161]

I love both. But, ILC, hands down. Have all 5 seasons. Should have been AT LEAST an hour. I miss that show.

[@ScarlettFevers]

MadTV was funnier for longer... Only the 1st 2 seasons of ILC were crazy funny, and then the turmoil began

[@frankie.b.s9133]

Aries is to funny and genius

[@toneyrobinson7921]

In Living Color and Madtv was better than SNL

[@brianboley870]

'If don't nuffiin come from it' hahahha

[@Kristmaz808]

I never understand Marlon Wayne's get a show but he can't