Jackass is an American reality comedy television series and franchise created by Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, and Johnny Knoxville. It originally aired as a TV series of three short seasons on MTV between October 2000 and August 2001. The Jackass series was controversial due to its perceived indecency and potential encouragement of dangerous behavior. After MTV ended Jackass broadcasts in 2002, it grew into a media franchise, which includes the spin-offs Wildboyz and Viva La Bam.