MTV veteran Van Toffler returns to produce VMAs for Paramount

Who says you can’t go home again?

MTV’s influential architect, Van Toffler, is returning to Paramount Global in a multi-year deal to help produce the Video Music Awards, which has long been a signature pop-culture event for the network and music industry.

Paramount said Tuesday that it had struck a multi-year arrangement with Toffler, through his Gunpowder & Sky content studio, to “supercharge” the VMAs “into a week-long, multiplatform celebration of music and music videos.”

The show is set for Sept. 7 at the UBS Arena on Long Island in New York.

During his 28 years at the company, then known as Viacom, Toffler built MTV into a ratings and youth culture juggernaut, overseeing such touchstones as “The Osbournes,” “Beavis and Butthead,” “Jackass,” “Unplugged,” and the VMAs.

Toffler exited a decade ago to launch Gunpowder & Sky, which has produced documentaries about Sheryl Crow, Lil Peep and others. It also has experimented with podcasts, digital series and augmented reality.

The reunion comes as Paramount struggles to retain the cachet of some of its biggest franchises, including the VMAs, as the cable television landscape shrinks because of the shift to streaming.

This year marks the first time the MTV stalwart will be simulcast on Paramount’s broadcast network CBS in a bid to expand the audience and give CBS more live programming to help kick off the fall television season. The show also will stream on Paramount+.

“The VMAs have always been where music and spectacle collide, and no one embodies that spirit more than Van Toffler,” Paramount co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks said in a joint statement. “Bringing Van back to the VMAs, along with Gunpowder & Sky, is about reigniting the rebellious soul of the show with a week-long music immersion and delivering global moments that are impossible to ignore.”

The company plans a week of music videos on MTV2, MTV Classic and MTV Live, to try to resurrect the magic of the era when 20-somethings turned to MTV for music and entertainment. The approach will be tailored for today’s audiences with current videos. Past VMA winners and former MTV personalities will return to curate their favorite videos.

“We’re launching a celebration of music that spans one week, every screen and every generation,” Toffler said.

He will produce the show in conjunction with the firm Den of Thieves.

This year’s show comes as Paramount is in the process of being sold to David Ellison’s Skydance Media. For that $8-billion deal, approved last July, to move forward, Paramount needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Paramount needs the FCC to approve the transfer of CBS’ station licenses to the Ellison family.

But the deal hit a snag amid negotiations to settle President Trump’s $20-billion lawsuit over “60 Minutes” edits to a Kamala Harris interview last fall.

The delay in the deal’s approval has cast a shadow over Paramount, complicating business decisions, including nabbing the streaming rights to Comedy Central’s long-running cartoon “South Park.”