Chowdaheads (partially found unaired professional wrestling cartoon show; 1999)

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Chowdaheads1.jpg

The show's title card.

Status: Partially Found

Chowdaheads is an unaired American cartoon created by Eli Roth and produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which followed the exploits of three teenage professional wrestling fans. It was to air weekly on WCW Monday Nitro, before being pulled before the first episode aired.

Background

In 1999, WCW was struggling in the Monday Night Wars against the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1] WCW President Eric Bischoff was therefore seeking means to increase ratings on the three-hour flagship show WCW Monday Nitro, including having bands KISS and Metallica perform concerts.[1] During this time period, Eli Roth, a big wrestling fan perhaps most known for directing the films Cabin Fever and Hostel,[2] approached Bischoff with the idea of creating a professional wrestling-themed cartoon, of which the shorts could be aired on WCW shows.[3] The show would be called Chowdaheads, featuring the exploits of three youths from Boston called Charlie, Harvey, and Walter, as they encountered all things WCW, including attending live events.[4]

Bischoff was impressed with the concept, and allowed the commissioning of the cartoon.[3] According to Roth, the concept focused on a style combining elements from Beavis and Butthead and Yellow Submarine. Originally, the idea for the show was Massholes, a King of the Hill-inspired show set in Massachusetts.[2] In September 1999, it was reported that Chowdaheads would be shown weekly on WCW Monday Nitro, with Roth and Noah Belson providing the voices of most of the main cast, while some WCW stars would also provide voice cameos in the show.[5]

Eight episodes of Chowdaheads were produced,[2] and the first episode was set to be broadcast on Nitro, when Bischoff was suddenly removed from his position as WCW President by TNT in September 1999.[1][4] Not long afterwards, it was announced that the show was to be put on hold,[3] much to the frustration of Roth and the people he promised would see his work on Nitro. Roth attempted to negotiate a deal with MTV, but ultimately, the channel was moving away from adult cartoons to reality television. Roth then scrapped plans to showcase the show to other channels, feeling that his professional wrestling show-tailored creation featuring quickly outdated characters would make less sense to people overtime.[2]

Availability

For nearly seventeen years, none of the eight episodes of Chowdaheads would see a public release. However, in January 2016, Roth's CryptTV would upload the first episode of the show onto Facebook, with Roth deeming it to be "our tribute to Boston and WCW wrestling".[2] The remaining seven episodes are likely still in the possession of Roth, but despite speculation that CryptTV would release them all,[6] they have yet to be shown on any public platform.

Gallery

Video

83 Weeks where Bischoff discussed Chowdaheads.

External Links

See Also

References