Mad TV (stylized as
MADtv) is an
American comedy sketch television series originally inspired by
Mad magazine. The show featured animated
Spy vs. Spy and
Don Martin cartoon shorts as well as images of
Alfred E. Neuman in earlier seasons, although the sketch comedy rarely if ever had any relation to the magazine's content. Its first TV broadcast was on October 14, 1995. The one-hour show first-ran on Saturday nights on
Fox, and was in
syndication on
Comedy Central. In Australia the show screens on satellite and cable TV channel
The Comedy Channel and in late-night timeslots on free-to-air broadcaster the
Nine Network and its affiliates.