Knoxville pulled the plug on the show after just three seasons and 25 episodes, but corporate sibling Paramount Studios found a way to keep the money-minting franchise alive in the form of three feature films: 2002’s Jackass: The Movie (which grossed $80 million worldwide) 2006’s Jackass Number Two ($85 million) and 2010’s Jackass 3D ($172 million). Something about its bum-fights-meets- Three Stooges energy instantly clicked with MTV audiences, giving the network its highest ratings in history (2.4 million among 12-to-34-year-olds) while sending lawmakers like Sen.
1, 2000, Jackass debuted on MTV with a shot of Johnny Knoxville being fired out of a cannon to the now-familiar strums of “Corona” by Minutemen - and the world would never be the same.īorn out of skate-culture shock videos, Jackass featured a lovable gang of ne’er-do-wells - including clown-college grad Steve-O, thong-loving exhibitionist Chris Pontius and occasional Oompa Loompa impersonator Jason “Wee Man” Acuña - performing a three-ring circus of Candid Camera-style pranks, gag-inducing dares and flat-out lunatic stunts.
