Paramount Network Originals

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

Paramount Network is a cable television network launched on January 18, 2018 by ViacomCBS Inc. through the ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks (VCDMN) division (formerly the "Viacom Media Networks" (VMN) division) replacing the now-extinct Spike network.

1st Logo (1983-2000?)
Logo: On a black/blue gradient space background we see the text "TNN" with a rounded red square with a section in the shape of a guitar top cut out of it zooming out from the left while the missing section in white does the same from the opposite direction. Both stop in the middle and the logo proceeds to shine.

FX/SFX: The zooming and the shining.

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

Availability: Extinct. Not 100% sure 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) sandwiched between the words "THE NEW" on top in teal with a white outline and "ORIGINALS" in gray with a bubbly effect. The TNN logo is bubbling in different colors as follows: red-orange-tan-magenta.

FX/SFX: The bubbling.

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

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: We see "Spike" in a script font on a white background. Above it is "TV" in superscript, next to the "e". Below the "pike" part, we see the line "FIRST NETWORK FOR MEN".

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" and we also see the Spike TV logo of the era (Spike in a cursive font with TV below it) zooming out while a curvy white line pushes it eventually dispersing to the left. Copyright information is listed below in red.

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 BG, we see a huge fireball and stone bricks from an explosion, which plays in reverse, forming the then-current Spike logo, which consists of a golden yellow chevron shape that is broken near the top containing the text "SPIKE", and "ORIGINAL" in gray, fades in below that. 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, a shinier version of the Spike chevron logo slowly fades in. A lens flare appears on the logo, and the text "ORIGINAL" appears below.

Variant: There is an early variant with the letters "HD" shown below "SPIKE.

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 " _ORIGINAL " appears below near the bottom-right part of the chevron. The logo glows, then inverts colors and goes back to normal.

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. The line shortens and forms the word "Spike" in a black bold font, with half of it split. The line disappears and the logo turns negative. "ORIGINAL" in spaced out letters fades in.

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 black, upside down and on a gray gradient background; the stars from the Paramount Network logo in gray on a black background; and the Paramountain from the Paramount Network logo in black on a gray gradient background. We then cut to a slide with the Paramount Network logo in gray on black, saying:

THIS HAS BEEN A (Paramount Network logo) ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

Below it are "PARAMOUNTNETWORK.COM", "PARAMOUNT NETWORK IS A VIACOM COMPANY", and the 2006-2019 Viacom logo.

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

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.

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. 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 of that. Even though Viacom and CBS merged to form ViacomCBS in 2019, the byline was not updated.

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

Logo: On a dark gray background, we see the Paramountain from the previous logo, but this time it has a 3D effect. 3D stars are seen zooming out to encircle the mountain. As this happens, the stars and mountain turn 2D. The words "Paramount Network" zoom out to take their place under the mountain, a flash of light is seen, then "ORIGINAL" zooms in afterwards.

Variant: On some shows, the background is black.

FX/SFX: The stars moving and zooming out to encircle the mountain, then the flash and 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 mnemonic make this logo a winner.