Downtown (also known as MTV Downtown) is an American animated sitcom created by Chris Prynoski that aired on MTV from August 3 to November 8, 1999. The show follows a group of young adults who live in an urban area on East Village of New York City, presenting their everyday lives.

Inspired by Ralph Bakshi's films from the early 1970s, Prynoski in the mid-1990s felt that his films from its time were a time capsule of a culture. He began work on Downtown, for the same effect of what he felt watching about Bakshi's films of the period time, as Downtown years later.

MTV canceled the series after one season. Prynoski put bad marketing decisions and the rerun's inconvenient time slots as speculations for the cause. Nonetheless, the sitcom's episode "Before and After" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2000, and the series has been positively received by critics and audiences in retrospect.

Plot

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.

Characters

thumb|The main characters of Downtown|left

  • 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 lives in Lower East Side apartment.
  • Chaka Henson (voiced by Leyora Zuberman)

Soundtrack of Downtown was composed by Massive Attack and DJ Shadow. Music tracks involving drum-and-bass however, was composed by Kimson Albert. It was later shown during Comic-Con International in August of that year. The show was broadcast for 13 episodes, airing from August 3, to November 8, 1999.

Due to licensing issues with the music, the series was never officially released on DVD or in any physical form. It wasn't released on any streaming service or VOD. Years later, Chris Prynoski started to sell promotional units of the show for $25, promoting them through his personal blog. During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the show gained larger interest from the audience in retrospect online, on YouTube and TikTok. with users praising and citing the show for "its abstract imagery and realism." Greta Rainbow of Vulture, called it a "Feat of naturalistic dialogue", describing the series as a "hyperspecific time capsule".