Jackass is an American reality comedy television series created by Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, and Johnny Knoxville. It originally aired for three short seasons on MTV between October 2000 and August 2001, with reruns extending into 2002. The show featured a cast of nine carrying out stunts and pranks on each other or the public. The cast included Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Ryan Dunn, Steve-O, Jason "Wee Man" Acuña, Ehren McGhehey and Preston Lacy.
The show was controversial over its perceived indecency and encouragement of dangerous behavior. After MTV ended Jackass broadcasts in 2002, it grew into a media franchise, which includes the spin-offs Wildboyz, Viva La Bam, Homewrecker, Blastazoid, Bam's Unholy Union, Dr. Steve-O, Bam's World Domination, and Bam's Bad Ass Game Show; nine feature films released by Paramount Pictures, four with expanded DVD versions; a video game; a mobile game, a DVD of unreleased bits not used in the original TV show, a short-lived website featuring blogs and videos, merchandise, and several other videos released by various other means. The show placed 68th on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list, and is a significant part in 2000s American popular culture.[4]