Where The Cast Of MADtv Is Today

MADtv just had its 21st birthday, but it doesn't look a day over 19—at least, that's what we're telling it to its face. First airing on October 14, 1995, the Fox comedy series ran until 2009, introducing us to many talented sketch comedians, stand-up performers, and impressionists along the way. Some have gone on to glory and fame and some have worked quietly behind the scenes, while others have all but disappeared. The show's legacy lives on, however: in 2016, an eight-episode revival was ordered by the CW network, with a list of returning original cast members that included Will Sasso, Ike Barinholtz, Nicole Sullivan, and Bobby Lee. But what about the others? We rounded up some of the best and brightest of the cast over the years to see what they're up to now.

A celebrity impression wiz, original MADtv cast member Nicole Sullivan bounced in 2005 to a longterm gig as Holly Shumpert on King of Queens, a role she continued for five seasons. From there, it was on to Cougar Town, where she tried her best to keep Courteney Cox sane, playing her therapist. After completing a steady run of secondary roles like scrubbing in as Jill on Scrubs, and listening to S*&t My Dad says, she landed a starring gig on the Lifetime series Rita Rocks. Things have been a bit quieter on the Sullivan front since that show's 2009 cancellation, but she'll soon appear alongside Danny Trejo and Gina Gershon in the mockumentary Craftique.

Sasso did so many things on MADtv that the show was sometimes called "The house that Will Sasso built." With impressions like Tony Soprano, James Lipton, George Bush, and DeNiro, plus his accident-prone Paul Timberman, Sasso was a perennial favorite on the series. Upon leaving MAD, he worked steadily, first as a co-star on the short-lived $#*! My Dad Says and then popping up on shows such as Drunk History, How I Met Your Mother, Justified, Hot In Cleveland, Modern Family, and Shameless. Sasso made the jump to the big screen with the role of Curly in The Three Stooges movie, which he's scheduled to reprise in the planned sequel.

Debra Wilson's Oprah Winfrey was so spot on that she became the go-to Oprah for many projects, including Comic Relief and Scary Movie 4. The same is true for her Whitney Houston impression, which caught the attention of Seth MacFarlane and landed her voiceover work on Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show. Though she has a smattering of voiceover work and parts in indie films to her credit, Wilson has yet to truly break out with her improv work. She still continues to do live improv with her troupe the Black Version and has worked behind the scenes on movies like Avatar and The Hobbit, as well as serving as a host for the Spirit Awards, GSN Live and The Water Cooler. Among the projects on her docket is Turning Tables with Joey Lawrence—which could be a comeback for both.

The breakout duo of MADtv, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, are now the proud owners of a Peabody Award and two Emmy awards. After leaving MAD, Key booked guest stints on a variety of shows, including Reno 911, Wilfred, Parks and Rec, and Playing House, while Peele made his mark on The Mindy Project, Kroll Show, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp, Wanderlust, and Super News. In 2012, Comedy Central greenlighted their sketch show Key & Peele, a blend of silly and searing satire that scored hit ratings as well as awards. As the accolades rolled in, including a forever fan in President Obama, the two were cast together as a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-type duo on FX's TV adaptation of Fargo.

Key also had the distinction of performing at the White House Correspondent's Dinner as President Obama's Anger Translator, alongside the president himself—calling back to a popular sketch from their Comedy Central show in which the often frustrated but stoic commander-in-chief needed a translator to let all his anger out. The duo ended their eponymous show in 2015, but quickly made the jump to movies the following year with the suitably bizarre kitten crime caper Keanu. Both have a number of projects in the works: Peele has directed a film and is executive producing a new Tracey Morgan project, while Key is writing several scripts, including a Key & Peele starring project. They're also both attached to the new Police Academy revival, written by their MADtv buddy Ike Barinholtz.

Frank Caliendo was no stranger to impressions when he joined the cast of MADtv. A touring comedian and sketch performer, impersonations were already clearly in his wheelhouse—and when he unveiled his George W. Bush and John Madden on the show, it cemented him in MAD history. Caliendo subsequently scored his own show for TBS, Frank TV, which lasted one season, and really found his mark in sports programming: Milking his popular Madden impression, he made panel appearances on shows such as The Best Damn Sports Show and Mohr Sports, and landed a gig on FOX NFL Sunday. Caliendo isn't in the TV spotlight much anymore, but he still tours doing standup and remains a regular guest on the syndicated radio circuit.

Alex Borstein started picking up high-profile outside gigs even before she left MADtv: since 1999, she's been the voice of Lois Griffin on Family Guy. Known to MAD fans as the emory board-wielding Ms. Swan, Borstein left MAD in 2009, working on The Cleveland Show and Robot Chicken while moving behind the scenes as a producer on Family Guy and the Showtime series Shameless. In 2013, Borstein joined the cast of the acclaimed HBO comedy Getting On; it was canceled in 2015, but she's also stayed busy with film work, landing roles in movies like Seth MacFarlane's Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Phil LaMarr was a fundamental part of the MADtv cast—who could forget the UPS guy?—and since leaving, he's delivered as a scene-stealing guest on a long list of shows that includes Veep, The Muppets, and Castle. The multitalented LaMarr has an impressive list of credits dating back to the '80s, and has done everything from feature films (he played Marvin in Pulp Fiction) to Broadway, where he appeared opposite Pee-wee Herman as the questionably, colorfully dressed Cowboy Curtis. He still goes back to his roots and performs with the Groundlings and his improv troupe the Black Version, and if you've watched a cartoon or played many video games in the last 30 years, you've most likely heard his velvety baritone. Listen for him on shows like Futurama, Robot Chicken, BoJack Horseman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Family Guy, and the title role of Samurai Jack.

Who would have thought that Ike Barinholtz would graduate from MADtv class clown to shirtless stud? Barinholtz wound up playing half-naked eye candy to Amy Poehler in the film Sisters and he hasn't looked back (and neither has his new throng of appreciative fans). Barinholtz has racked up lots of credits since MAD, but not all of them have been as, um, revealing. He's done time on Eastbound and Down, The Mindy Project, The League, and took a dark turn as a henchman in the DC comics blockbuster Suicide Squad. Barinholtz isn't resting on those laurels, either: he's also penning the Police Academy revival, produced by Key & Peele. No word on whether he'll be shirtless.

Aries Spears was on MADtv for 198 episodes, the most of any cast member. His impressions of LL Cool J, Jay Z, and Denzel Washington made him a standout on the show, as did original characters like Dollar Bill Montgomery. After Leaving MAD, Aries made a few TV appearances on show like Mind of Mencia and Jiminy Glick, as well as providing voices for animated series like The Boondocks, American Dad!, Black Dynamite, and Lilo And Stitch. However, Aries' biggest post-MAD splash was probably starting a beef with Soulja Boy and challenging the artist to a rap battle, which no doubt had Soulja quaking in his boots. Though he's been relatively quiet in recent years, he's filmed a couple comedy specials, airing Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling in 2011 on Showtime, and following with Comedy Blueprint for SeeSo in 2016. No update on whether rap battle will ever happen.

Bobby Lee came to MADtv via the Comedy Store, where he worked his way up from backstage. The first Asian American on the show, he added kooky characters like Tank, Kim Jong-Il, and Yamanashi, the hapless student of Keegan-Michael Key's Coach Hines. Subsequent roles have included a stint as a series regular on the short-lived sitcom Animal Practice as well as appearances on Another Period, the Seth Meyers animated series The Awesomes, and the Judd Apatow-produced Netflix show Love. Lee continues to perform standup and showcases his high-octane energy with supporting roles in the Harold and Kumar movies, The Dictator, and the Zach Galafianakis comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses.

Mo Collins may have left MADtv in 2004, but they kept pulling her back in. Collins returned to the show repeatedly due to the popularity of character Lorraine Swanson, but she was also known for Doreen, the full-grown toddler Stuart's mother, and for nailing impressions of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alanis Morissette, and Cher. Collins worked steadily on shows such as Family Guy, Men of a Certain Age, F Is for Family, and Parks and Rec. Her career was derailed briefly when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2011; fortunately, she's since gone into remission and continued her acting work. More recently, she played Maria Bamford's passive-aggressive childhood friend Susan on the Netflix show Lady Dynamite and can also be spotted in the Chris McDonnell indie comedy McDick.

Although Simon Helberg's big foray into comedy was his work on MADtv, he was already working as part of the comedy duo Derek & Simon. His partner, Derek Waters, would go on to create Drunk History, and their producer was Mr. Show vet and future Emmy-nominated Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk. After MAD, Helberg had small roles in Old School and George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck before landing a recurring role on Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip—a show about a sketch show. Helberg was basically playing himself from his MAD days, but now he got to do the famous Sorkin walk and talk. In 2007, he joined the cast of a little sitcom about a bunch of socially awkward physicists called the Big Bang Theory. After an iffy first season, it grew into a ratings powerhouse for CBS, leading to major paydays for the cast—not to mention more acting opportunities: in 2016, Helberg appeared opposite Meryl Streep in the Stephen Frears film Florence Foster Jenkins.

Stephnie Weir

Stephnie Weir was crucial to MADtv in the early aughts because she lampooned two of America's most important women: Anna Nicole Smith and Laura Bush. (That's on you, America.) After creating many popular characters over her five-year tenure, Weir left in 2005, finding work in projects that included Big Day and Fun With Dick And Jane before putting acting on the back burner to work as a producer on the sitcoms Raising Hope and The Millers. She has recently returned to acting, working on The Comedians opposite Billy Crystal, the CW's Crazy Ex- Girlfriend, and appearing as Hilary Clinton's anger translator on Key & Peele. In 2016, Weir landed a guest arc in Veep, where her character received a vicious dressing-down from Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer.

Nicole Parker

Nicole Parker was one of the later MADtv cast members, known for characters such as Disney Girl and her impressions of Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Julie Andrews. Parker basically is a Disney girl—not only does she resemble Belle, she can sing like her too. Parker, sticking with her strengths, left MADtv and headed for Broadway, landing the coveted role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, after which she toured with the company across the nation. Parker has mostly stuck with theater but has added a few TV and film credits along the way, including Key & Peele (as Fantine from Les Mis), Hot in Cleveland, and the Judd Apatow film Funny People. She hasn't yet popped up in any of those live TV musical revivals—but then again, she actually can sing, so that might rule her out.

Orlando Jones was hot out of the gate after leaving MADtv, hosting his own late night talk show on Fox. The series may have suffered from the "too soon for your own show" scenario, and didn't find an audience, only running for eight episodes. Next Jones landed on short-lived dramas like The Evidence, Men in Trees, and various others until he landed the role of Frank Irving on the cult hit Sleepy Hollow. Drama has been a good look for Jones: next, he'll star opposite Gillian Anderson in American Gods, the highly anticipated new series from Neil Gaiman and Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller. There will probably be a battle of good and evil...and a body count.

David Herman may be known for his work on MADtv, but to millions of others, he'll always be Michael Bolton from the Mike Judge movie Office Space. No, not the popular singer, but a milquetoast office employee (who naturally loved gangsta rap). Judge must have loved Herman's work too, because he also included him in his cult classic Idiocracy, the animated series King of the Hill, and the revival of Beavis And Butt-Head. Herman hasn't done much live-action acting since his roles in Office Space and Idiocracy, but has found success in the recording booth for animated shows such as Family Guy, Futurama, Trip Tank, Brickleberry, and Bob's Burgers. That's so Michael Bolton to be kicking ass behind the scenes.

Artie Lang has had a wild road since being fired from MADtv after an arrest for cocaine possession in 1997. He returned to television with a role on SNL vet Norm Macdonald's sitcom Norm, establishing a pattern of projects starring or produced by his friends—like Rescue Me, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, and The Jim Gaffigan Show. Most notably he was hired as one of Howard Stern's sidekicks on Stern's radio show, replacing Jackie Martling in 2001. Lang became extremely well-known through his appearances on the program, but departed after a relapse and suicide attempt in 2010. After another stint in rehab, Lang landed his own radio show, which started as The Nick and Artie Show in 2011 and morphed into The Artie Lange Show after co-host Nick DiPaolo's departure in 2013. The show went off the air in 2014, but Lange has stayed busy: he records the popular Artie Quitter podcast, has appeared on HBO's Judd Apatow-produced Crashing, and upcoming projects include a new book, The Gambler: A Degenerate's Guide to Living on the Edge.

Michael McDonald has the honor of being the longest-tenured MADtv cast member, joining in 1994 and staying until the very end—during which he found fame through his many appearances as the full-grown toddler Stuart. McDonald has mostly moved away from the spotlight since the show ended, focusing on writing and directing for television: he's helmed episodes of Scrubs, Cougar Town, Melissa McCarthy's Mike and Molly. In fact, much of McDonald's most recent acting work has been in McCarthy vehicles—he's popped up in small roles in Spy, The Boss, The Heat, and Ghostbusters.