Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace

On May 7, 2015, it was announced that Adult Swim had ordered an untitled pilot by Million Dollar Extreme described as a "sketch show ... set in an almost present-day post-apocalyptic nightmare world".[2] Based on that pilot, it was announced on March 3, 2016, that it would go to series with the group presenting it under the additional subtitle World Peace, and the first season consisting of six episodes under the network's traditional eleven-minute episode structure.[1] The show was produced in-house by Rent Now Productions, Inc., and shot in Atlanta, Georgia.[3] The show additionally benefitted from the Georgia production tax credit.[4]

According to a YouTube interview with Sam Hyde, the network's marketing department produced billboard proofs with over-the-top tag lines such as "World Peace is Racist, Hateful, and Takes No Prisoners."[5] Hyde claimed this sabotaged the marketing by forcing him to reject the marketing team's ideas resulting in no billboards for the series. Hyde also claimed that one of the Williams Street production staff was fired from her position after a failed attempt to break into the show's editing suite to delete the show's footage,[5] and that Million Dollar Extreme members were confronted at an Adult Swim company party by someone saying she was going to get them fired.[3]

The show was set to premiere on August 5, 2016 at 12:15 AM.

BuzzFeed News writer Joseph Bernstein was active in criticizing the show after a heated interview with its creator, Hyde. He wrote that a source told him the network's standards departments repeatedly discovered and removed coded racist messages, including hidden swastikas.[6] Hyde denied these allegations in a YouTube response.[7] In the same article, Adult Swim series creator Brett Gelman claimed that the show is "an instrument of hate." Gelman would later cut ties with the network over Mike Lazzo's comments regarding women in the workplace, while also citing the network's greenlighting of World Peace as playing a significant part in the decision.[8] Gelman's business collaborator, Tim Heidecker, also voiced his support for Gelman's decision to leave the network on Facebook.[9]

Adult Swim announced on December 5, 2016, that the show would not be renewed for a second season. The network faced internal opposition to its continuation, mainly regarding accusations of MDE's documented connections to the alt-right.[10] According to Hyde, despite Adult Swim executives' apparent interest to pick up the show for a second season, Turner ultimately decided to cancel the show.[11] Hyde also accused fellow Adult Swim comedian Tim Heidecker of being a critic of the show, and therefore being instrumental in its cancellation for a second season.[3]

Following the cancellation, musicians whose work was featured on the show, including Molly Nilsson, Chastity Belt, Ovlov and 3 Teeth, disavowed the show.[12] All four acts made the common claim that they were unaware of Million Dollar Extreme's beliefs or political views prior to meeting them or viewing their work. John Maus would remain silent until a year later, where he told Pitchfork “I don’t want to make any apology, but I also didn’t want to.... The guys I met were nice. They weren’t burning crosses or doing anything like that.”[13]