MTV’s Downtown: The Village in Animation

Downtown was a short-lived end-of-the-millennium animated series centered around a group of teens and twenty-somethings living and hanging out in lower Manhattan. Only lasting for one season, the show’s thirteen episodes aired on MTV from August to November 1999. Although a cartoon, the show feels realistic, as its characters are drawn from interviews with real people, and its scenes and backgrounds include real places around the city. It was partially inspired by films made by animator Ralph Bakshi, whose animated movies depicted New York City life during the 1970s. The creator of Downtown, Chris Prynoski, hoped to do something similar with this show, creating an animated time capsule of life in New York City during the 1990s.   

The focus of the show is a 24-year-old named Alex, who works at a copy shop known as the Repro-Man. The first episode focuses on his move into his own apartment in an undisclosed location somewhere on the Lower East Side or in the East Village. The ensemble cast includes Alex, his nerdy best friend Jen, and his younger high school age sister Chaka and her friends, all of whom help him move into his apartment, which turns out to be a total dump. Throughout the series, the characters embark on silly but relatable adventures, mainly taking place in the Village, and bringing some of our favorite spots to the animated world. 

In the show’s second episode, the group splits up for a subway race to Coney Island. Some opt to take the N from 8th Street, while others take the B from West 4th Street. 

In a later episode, when the character Jen shares her plans for the day, she said “Well I have exciting plans for myself you know. Alex and I are going to order both cheese and blueberry blintzes from the Kiev and rent not one, not two, but three forgettable comedies from Kim’s video.” 

Although both Kiev and Kim’s Video are gone, they are East Village classics that live on in the fond in the memories of many Villagers. The Kiev was a 24/7 Ukrainian restaurant that opened in 1978 at the corner of East 7th Street and Second Avenue until 2000, when the owner “got bored with it” and decided to close. The site is included on the Little Ukraine Tour on our East Village Building Blocks web page.  Kim’s Kideo, opened in 1987 when Youngman Kim started renting videos out of his dry cleaning business on Avenue A, would grow into a local chain with six Manhattan locations, and a collection of nearly 55,000 videos sourced from across the world.  

At another point, two of the characters are seen exiting the Astor Place Subway Station, and in the background a cartoon version of Colonnade Row is visible.  

These beloved landmarks were originally constructed in 1832-1833 and individually landmarked in 1965, and are part of the NoHo historic district designated in 1999.  

The show’s final episode is called “Trip or Treat” and follows the group as they attend the Village Halloween Parade. The episode includes lots of Village scenery and the very relatable experience of losing one of your friends amidst the chaos of the parade. 

Although the show was cancelled after one seasons all thirteen episodes are available to watch for free on YouTube, giving people an opportunity to explore the animated but real world of 1990s downtown Manhattan.