Paramount Network Originals

Background
The origins of the Spike cable television network are traced as far back as 1983, when "The Nashville Network" was founded as a country music network (not the first as it was founded two days after Country Music Television was formed). In 2000, the network was acquired by Viacom, who drastically changed its format and renamed it to "The National Network" (a.k.a. "The New TNN" for short) in an attempt to compete with networks like USA Network and TBS. In 2003, the channel was rebranded to "Spike TV", targeting a young male audience. On January 18, 2018, the network was rebranded to "Paramount Network".

1st Logo (1983-2000?)
Logo: On a black/blue gradient space background, we see the text "Stencil" and a rounded red square with a guitar top-shaped cutout zooming out from the left, while a white guitar top-shaped piece flies in from the opposite direction. Both stop in the middle, with the white shape going inside the cutout on the red square, and the finished logo proceeds to shine.

FX/SFX: The zooming and the shining.

Music/Sounds: A mellow country theme with an announcer saying "You're watching TNN".

Availability: Extinct. It's probable, but not completely certain, if this was used at the end of programs on the network.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2000-2003)
Logo: On a gray background, we see The National Network logo of the era (2 squares stacked on top of 2 others) with the words "THE NEW" in teal with a white outline above it and the word "ORIGINALS" in gray with a bubbly effect below it. The squares in the TNN logo are filled with bubbling liquid in various colors (from top-to-bottom and left-to-right: red, orange, gold, and magenta.

FX/SFX: The bubbling.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of a preceding program, or a bubbling sound.

Availability: Seen on original programs on the network before it became Spike TV. This is retained on at least one episode of Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon on iTunes. Also seen on very early episodes of MXC and plastered the Nickelodeon Animation Studios logo on TNN's reruns of the original Ren and Stimpy show. This was also seen in early episodes of Stripperella and Gary the Rat.

Editor's Note: None.

1st Logo (2003)
Logo: On a white background, we see the word "Spike" in a script font, the word "TV" superscripting it, and the text "FIRST NETWORK FOR MEN" below it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: It was seen on the 1st season of MXC.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2003-2006)
Logo: On a black background we see the red text "MADE BY", with the Spike TV logo of the era ("Spike" in a cursive font with "TV" below it) zooming out with a curvy white line that disperses to the left when it's in place. Copyright information in red or white is shown below.

Variant: There is an early variant that uses the unused Spike TV logo.

FX/SFX: The line's animation and the zooming of the logo.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show, or a rock tune.

Availability: Rare. It was seen on some Spike programs like Gary the Rat, Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, and MXC until the network re-branded.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (May 9, 2006-2010)
Nicknames: "Spike Chevron", "The Reverse Explosion"

Logo: Against a black background, we see a huge explosion playing in reverse, with the debris forming the then-current Spike logo, which consists of a golden yellow chevron shape with a gap in the middle and the text "Impact" inside it, and the word "ORIGINAL" in gray fades in below it. A copyright stamp is sometimes shown below.

FX/SFX: The explosion.

Music/Sounds:
 * The sound of an explosion playing in reverse, ending with a "clang".
 * Sometimes, the clang is not heard.

Availability: Appeared on shows like 1,000 Ways to Die, GameTrailers TV, Blade: The Series, and the final season of MXC.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2010-2011)


Nickname: "Spike Chevron II"

Logo: On a dark background, we see a shinier version of the Spike chevron logo slowly fading in. A lens flare appears on the logo, and the word "ORIGINAL" appears below.

Variant: There is an early variant with the letters "HD" on the bottom half of the chevron, due to the channel's transition to HD.

FX/SFX: The logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: An ethereal electronic note.

Availability: Appears at the end of Spike programs from the era, such as Blue Mountain State.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (2011-2015)
Nicknames: "Spike Chevron III", "Spike on the Internet"

Logo: On a bumblebee yellow background with a black bar in the center, the Spike chevron logo shifts to the middle from the right of the screen. The yellow colors move out, the Spike chevron logo turns yellow, and "Impact" appears below near the bottom-right part of the chevron. The logo glows, then briefly flashes to white and to black on a yellow background.

FX/SFX: Simple 2D effects.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh, then a beep sound as the logo glows.

Availability: Seen on Spike programs prior to their rebranding in 2015. Also seen at the start of Spike shows on Hulu and Amazon Prime.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (2015-2018)
Nicknames: "The Flash", "Spike Split", "Boom!"

Logo: On a black background, we see a diagonal line, which quickly shortens and forms the word "Spike" in a white bold font, with half of it split diagonally. The line disappears and the logo becomes black with a white background. "ORIGINAL" in spaced out letters fades in next to "Spike".

Variants:
 * On Cops and Jail, the word "ORIGINAL" is removed.
 * On Belator MMA, "ORIGINAL" is replaced with "SPORTS".

FX/SFX: The line, the invert, and the fade.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized boom as the logo forms, followed by a 3-note jingle.

Availability: No longer current. Seen on newer Spike programming such as Lip Sync Battle.

Editor's Note: None.

1st Logo (January 18, 2018-2020)
Nicknames: "The Show's ENDed", "The Reel Deal"

Logo: We see several things in quick succession: The word "END" in a black backwards font and on a light gray gradient background; the stars from the Paramount Network logo in light gray on a black background; and the Paramountain from the Paramount Network logo in black on a light gray gradient background. We then cut to a black background with the Paramount Network logo in light gray, arranged in the following manner:

THIS HAS BEEN A (Paramount Network logo) ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

The URL "PARAMOUNTNETWORK.COM", the byline "'PARAMOUNT NETWORK IS A VIACOM COMPANY'", and the 2006-2019 Viacom logo are below it.

Variant: Sometimes, only the Paramount Network logo is seen.

Trivia: The Paramount Network logo combines the designs of the current Paramount Pictures on-screen logo and the print logo.

FX/SFX: The quick succession of images. Done by Gretel.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized whoosh that fades out.

Music/Sounds Variant: On 68 Whiskey, the Paramount Television Studios theme is used. On certain episodes of Cops, the music from the final Spike Original logo is used.

Availability: Premiered on Lip Sync Battle Live: A Michael Jackson Celebration and can be seen on on-demand copies of Cops, plastering the Spike logo, which also used that logo's music or may cut that logo off for some episodes. It is also seen other Paramount Network programming from 2018 to 2020.

Editor's Note: It's quite a boring logo, though the next logo is the opposite. Even though Viacom and CBS merged to form ViacomCBS in 2019, the byline was not updated.

2nd Logo (May 3, 2020-2021?)
Nicknames: "3D to 2D Mountain/Stars"

Logo: On a dark gray background, we see the Paramountain from the previous logo with a 3D effect. Several 3D stars zoom out to encircle the mountain, with the logo becoming 2D when they do so. The words "Times New Roman Network" zoom out and settle below the mountain, the side of the logo flashes, and the word "ORIGINAL" fades in afterwards, zooming in slightly.

Variant: On some shows, the background is black.

FX/SFX: The stars moving and zooming out to encircle the mountain, then the flash and the Paramount Network text zooming out. Done by Michael Sutton-Long for Gretel.

Music/Sounds: The 4-note Paramount Network brand theme, played on strings. Whoosh sounds are heard throughout.

Availability: Current. Premiered on episode 10 of season 7 of Bar Rescue, and is seen at the end of Paramount Network programming since 2020.

Editor’s Note: The moving CGI stars and the Paramountain turning 2D when the animation completes, along with the 4-note sonic theme, make this logo a winner.