History Trivia / MadTV1995

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release anymore [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. And don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since [[note]]in contrast, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' has hour-long reruns on most Saturday nights, airs seasons 1-5 and 30 to whatever current season is out on Hulu, and has classic sketches on YouTube[[/note]]. Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles), and iTunes store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has fewer black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20 and counting] and one male Asian-American cast member [Creator/BobbyLee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Creator/BowenYang, who is Chinese] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Korean, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any other East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, while SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since ''SNL'' isn't ending anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL has (so far). ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, Johnny Sanchez, and (from the short-lived revival series) Michele Ortiz while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, detractors, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who stayed from 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Mary Scheer, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

** Now mostly averted as of 2020: HBO Max has the FOX run of the show, but some episodes are missing due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD). Also, season 15 (which was the eight-episode revival that aired on The CW) isn't included ([[FanonDiscontinuity though, for some, that might be a good thing]]).

** Creator/SethMacFarlane was originally contracted to do cartoon shorts for this show, but backed out in favor of creating his own TV series for FOX. Had [=MacFarlane=] taken the offer, he would have created ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' for ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' before spinning it off into its own show, much like Creator/MattGroening did with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow''.

** Cast member Creator/JoshMeyers is the brother of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member Seth Meyers.

** In the "Adopted Asian Baby" sketch Bobby Lee's brother Steve plays a fellow baby.

** Now mostly averted as of 2020: HBO Max has the FOX run of the show, but some episodes are missing due to rights issues over the celebrity guest stars and musical performances (though the music video parodies and spoken references to songs are still there, unlike what happened with ''In Living Color'' when it was released on DVD) Also, season 15 isn't included ([[FanonDiscontinuity though, for some, that might be a good thing]]).

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release any more [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. And don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since [[note]]in contrast, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is now airing on Logo, Creator/VH1, and is back airing on Comedy Central, along with some hour-long reruns of past season episodes on NBC, a collection of memorable sketches on NBC's webpage, Hulu, and on Yahoo Screen, and a memorable stint on Netflix and [=Xfinity=] On-Demand's Streampix[[/note]]. Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''[=MADtv=]'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles), and iTunes store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.
** Averted partially as of May 2020; most of the run is streaming on Creator/HBOMax, though some episodes have been skipped over due to personality rights issues over some of the guest stars as well as music rights.

** Averted partially as of May 2020; most of the run is streaming on Creator/HBOMax, though some episodes have been skipped over due to personality rights issues over some of the guest stars.

* ThrowItIn: Although [=MadTV=]'s comedy sketches are taped, even outside of HilariousOuttakes a few sketches still had the cast members' {{Corpsing}} moments left uncut. Mo Collins will occasionally be seen to doing so, and even Michael [=McDonald=] was seen corpsing at least twice.

** Averted partially as of May 2020; most of the run is streaming on Creator/HBOMax, though some episodes have been skipped over due to legal issues or objectionable content.

** Averted as of May 2020; the entire run is part of the new Creator/HBOMax streaming service.

* NoExportForYou: Narrowly averted with the first run. {{Creator/FOX}} didn't plan to air the show in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} because the ''local'' SketchComedy show ''Series/AlmostLive'' (the show that made ''Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy'' popular before he had his own educational series on PBS) was well-established and wildly popular at the time.

** A couple of sketches have had Nelson Ascenscio's twin brother and Paul Vogt's twin brother (Peter), making them the only ''[=MADtv]'' cast members who have an identical twin brother.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has fewer black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20 and counting] and one male Asian-American cast member [Creator/BobbyLee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Creator/BowenYang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Korean, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any other East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, while SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since ''SNL'' isn't ending anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL has (so far). ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, Johnny Sanchez, and (from the short-lived revival series) Michele Ortiz while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, detractors, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who stayed from 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Mary Scheer, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has fewer black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20 and counting] and one male Asian-American cast member [Creator/BobbyLee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Creator/BowenYang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Korean, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any other East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, while SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since ''SNL'' isn't ending anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, detractors, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who stayed from 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Mary Scheer, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20] and one male Asian-American cast member [Creator/BobbyLee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Creator/BowenYang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].
* HostilityOnTheSet: According to interviews with both Creator/JordanPeele and Creator/KeeganMichaelKey, cast member Aries Spears was cold to them and oftentimes difficult to work with.

** Creator/Seth[=MacFarlane=] was originally contracted to do cartoon shorts for this show, but backed out in favor of creating his own TV series for FOX. Had [=MacFarlane=] taken the offer, he would have created ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' for ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' before spinning it off into its own show, much like Creator/MattGroening did with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow''.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20] and one male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Bowen Yang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, Noel Wells, and Melissa Villaseñor[[/note]] and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

** Cast member Josh Meyers is the brother of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member Seth Meyers.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20] and one male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Bowen Yang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen,Noel Wells and Melissa Villase&ntilde[[/note]];or, and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 20] and one male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Bowen Yang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen,Noel Wells[[/note]] and Melissa Villaseñor, and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 18] and one male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Bowen Yang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, and Noel Wells[[/note]], and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 to 2016)[[note]]Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael Key, and Erica Ash auditioned, but were turned down[[/note]].

** Also taking flak for this are Bobby Lee's Bae Sung, Tank and the Blind Kungfu Master sketches, where their respective characters do the same actions with usually the same ending in different places. This was sort of lampshaded in one of Bae Sung sketches where Tony Soprano (Portrayed by Frank Caliendo) pointed out that saying "hot dog" over and over again is not funny, and proceeded to brutally murder Bae Sung for annoying him.

** Creator/SethMacFarlan was originally contracted to do cartoon shorts for this show, but backed out in favor of creating his own TV series for FOX. Had [=MacFarlane=] taken the offer, he would have created ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' for ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' before spinning it off into its own show, much like Creator/MattGroening did with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow''.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 18] and one male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean], while SNL has hired one full-blooded Asian cast member [Bowen Yang] and hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL has hired three gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]'', John Milhiser, and Bowen Yang] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2019, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, and Noel Wells[[/note]], and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 and is still on there)[[note]]it would have been five, but Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, and Erica Ash were turned down[[/note]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''[=MADtv=]'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though ''[=MADtv=]'' has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 18], only hired a male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean] while SNL hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL did hire a gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for ''[=MADtv=]''] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2016, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and ''[=MADtv=]'' hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. ''[=MADtv=]'' had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, and Noel Wells[[/note]], and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''[=MADtv=]'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 and is still on there)[[note]]it would have been five, but Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, and Erica Ash were turned down[[/note]].

* CastingGag: One episode had [[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Christopher Meloni]] play a resident of a gated community at a community meeting... who also happened to be a serial groper harassing one of the female residents.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen - Creator/SethMacFarlane (the man behind ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'') was originally contracted to do cartoon shorts for this show, but backed out in favor of creating his own TV series for FOX. Had [=MacFarlane=] taken the offer, he would have created ''Family Guy'' for ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' before spinning it off into its own show, much like Matt Groening did with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow''.

*** Jordan Peele also auditioned to be on ''Saturday Night Live'' during the hiatus brought on by the 2007-2008 Writers' Guild strike when Lorne Michaels used the time off to find a cast member who could play Barack Obama. Peele and another black male cast member (Donald Glover) were passed up in favor of Fred Armisen (to much controversy) until September 2012, when Jay Pharoah was chosen. The joke's on ''SNL'' as [[HilariousInHindsight Jordan Peele played Barack Obama]] on Comedy Central's ''Series/KeyAndPeele''.
* TheWikiRule: The [[http://madtv.wikia.com/wiki/MADtv_Wiki MADtv Wiki]].

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. While ''MADtv'' has its share of fans, boasted a more ethnically diverse cast[[note]]though MADtv has less black cast members than SNL does overall [10 vs. 18], only hired a male Asian-American cast member [Bobby Lee, who is Korean] while SNL hired two male Asian cast members who weren't full-blooded [Rob Schneider, who's Filipino and Jewish, and Fred Armisen, who's Japanese, Venezuelan, and German], never hired a female Asian cast member [technically, SNL did with Nasim Pedrad, since Iran is in The Middle East and The Middle East is part of the Asian continent, but now that she's gone, they don't have one, nor has SNL ever hired a female Asian cast member who has origins in China, Japan, Korea, or any East Asian country], hired a gay male cast member [Paul Vogt] but not a lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person, though SNL did hire a gay male cast member [Terry Sweeney, who later wrote for MADtv] and two lesbians [Danitra Vance and Kate [=McKinnon=]]. As of 2016, ''SNL'' has no cast members who are bisexual or transgender -- though that can change, since the show doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon], and MADtv hired more Hispanic cast members than SNL ever did. MADtv had Pablo Francisco, Nelson Acenscio, Jill-Michele Melean, Anjelah Johnson, and Johnny Sanchez while SNL only has Horatio Sanz, Fred Armisen, and Noel Wells[[/note]], and is considered the longest-running FOX sketch show (and ''SNL'''s longest-running rival), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (for all its flaws, SeasonalRot, and controversial moments) came out on top as the edgy, weekend live sketch show with a cast of up-and-coming comedians. ''Saturday Night Live'' even has two former ''MADtv'' cast members: Jeff Richards (who was on the show from 2001 to mid-2004) and Taran Killam (who came on the show in 2010 and is still on there)[[note]]it would have been five, but Stephnie Weir, Jordan Peele, and Erica Ash were turned down[[/note]].
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For a time, the only [=DVD=]s ''Series/MADtv'' had out were the complete season one set and a compilation special called ''The Best of Seasons 8, 9, and 10''. Despite a preview for the second season DVD, Warner Bros. decided not to release any more [=DVD=]s for the show due to low sales. Creator/ShoutFactory picked up the slack and released seasons two, three, and four on DVD, but then stopped for the same reason Warner Bros. did. And don't bother looking for it on television, since Creator/ComedyCentral stopped airing the show in 2010 (it didn't even air the last couple of seasons [12 to 14], though Canada's Comedy Network aired season 12 before pulling the show) and no other channel has aired it since [[note]]in contrast, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is now airing on Logo, Creator/VH1, and is back airing on Comedy Central, along with some hour-long reruns of past season episodes on NBC, a collection of memorable sketches on NBC's webpage, Hulu, and on Yahoo Screen, and a memorable stint on Netflix and [=Xfinity=] On-Demand's Streampix[[/note]]. Website/YouTube seems to be the only place anyone can find ''MADtv'' sketches (albeit ones with Comedy Central station identification bugs or Dutch subtitles), and iTunes store only has full episodes of the last two seasons available.