Does Verizon’s List Of Top MTV Shows in Illinois Match Yours?

ILLINOIS — On Aug. 1, 1981, when cable TV was just becoming a “thing,” an obscure astronaut bounded across a seemingly weightless moonscape with metal guitars shredding in the background to plant a flag announcing the arrival of MTV.

What followed was four decades of music videos — beginning with the Buggles would-be prophetic song, “Video Killed The Radio Star” — music and entertainment news, celebrity watching, reality shows, extreme sports, and pop-culture-driving original programming.

This summer MTV celebrates its 40th anniversary and now is a good time to account for the organization’s historic impact. Whether piped through coax cables or streaming across wireless networks, MTV has provided the soundtrack for a half-dozen generations, simultaneously reflecting and molding culture wherever it was broadcast.

Go.Verizon.com has reviewed all of the shows MTV aired over the last decade, both on the entertainment goliath’s bevy of networks and in syndication across the video universe, and determined the most popular shows in each state for the years 2010, 2015 and 2020.

In Illinois, here were the top MTV shows:

• 2010 - The Challenge
  • A reality competition show formerly known as "Road Rules: All Stars" and then "Real World/Road Rules Challenge"
• 2015 - The Challenge
• 2020 - The Challenge

Was this your favorite shows? What were your top MTV shows in 2010? 2015? 2020? All time?