The Dark Crime Comedy Series For Adults With A Controversial Star, Stream Without Netflix
To most people, Mike Tyson is best known as the former heavyweight champion of the world, who terrorized some of the finest boxers to ever enter the ring throughout the 1980s and 1990s. To others, Tyson is a podcast-hosting, animated entertainer who has popped up in projects such as The Hangover and How I Met Your Mother. Given that the famed boxer has had his fists in so many different projects, you’d be forgiven for missing out on his hilariously dark animated series, Mike Tyson Mysteries, which is currently streaming free on Adult Swim.
A Scooby-Doo Parody
Mike Tyson Mysteries originally aired on Adult Swim for four seasons, running from 2014 through 2019. The series was created and developed for television by Tyson himself, alongside Lee Stimmel and Robot Chicken writer Hugh Davidson.
The series is drawn and animated in a similar style to classic Scooby-Doo iterations, and partially serves as something of a parody to the long-running gang of mystery-solving teens.
The Hilarious Cast
The plot of Mike Tyson Mysteries generally revolves around a core cast of four hilariously esoteric characters. The real life Mike Tyson lends his voice to a fictionalized version of himself, who serves as the head of the eponymous team of investigators, while The Looney Tunes Show‘s Rachel Ramras voices Tyson’s adopted daughter, Yung He.
Legendary comedian Norm MacDonald and Community‘s Jim Rash round out the ensemble, as a filthy-minded talking pigeon and the living ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry, respectively.
Tyson’s Pals Are Pulled From His Real Life
Now you might be asking yourself, what exactly does this have to do with the former heavyweight champion of the world? While it’s all completely absurd, these characters tie in to Mike Tyson’s actual life more than you may realize.
For starters, Tyson really does collect and keep pigeons, just as he does in Mike Tyson Mysteries, based on a long-standing obsession he’s had with the birds since his youth.
Beyond that, the Marquess of Queensberry, whose real name was John Douglas, is known as the father of modern day boxing, outlining some of the rules and regulations still used in the ring today. While the real man was a notorious bigot who condemned the famed poet Oscar Wilde to prison labor, Mike Tyson Mysteries portrays him as a binge-drinking, flamboyantly homosexual deviant.
Clearly this portrayal exists as a sort of cosmic justice for the Douglas’ actions, adding yet another layer of hilarity to the off-the-walls show.
They Always Make Things Worse
Most episodes of Mike Tyson Mysteries see the gang called in to investigate some paranormal activity, business fraud, missing persons cases, or a wide array of other mysteries. In stark contrast to Scooby-Doo, however, the team generally make things catastrophically worse for their clients, leave behind a massive mess, and pat themselves on the back for a job well done before going home to lounge by Tyson’s pool.
Episodes of the series generally run for only 11 minutes, but are paced perfectly and fully loaded to the brim with laughs.
Norm MacDonald completely steals the show, offering some of the most vulgar, side-splitting comments ever committed to animation. The humor is only exacerbated by the fact that these diabolical asides are spoken by a poorly-mannered pigeon.
Mike Tyson Mysteries also includes a variety of hilarious guest stars, including Kevin Nealon, Stephen Root, Snoop Dogg, Fred Armisen, and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s Andrew Friedman.
Stream It Now
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If you’re interested in checking out Mike Tyson Mysteries today, the show can be streamed through Adult Swim‘s official website. Limited episodes are also available for free via Sling TV. If you’re a fan of classic cartoon animation and offensive, off-beat humor, you’ll surely find this show to be a knock-out.
