Mike Tyson says he’s “always been a cartoon character” — so it makes some cosmic sense that he’s starring in “Mike Tyson Mysteries,” a 10-episode animated series with a ’70s throwback feel, premiering Oct. 27 (10:30 p.m.) on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” lineup.
“Mysteries” features the voices of Tyson, Norm Macdonald (as a foul-mouthed, beer-swilling pigeon), Rachel Ramras (as Mike’s adopted daughter, Yung Hee) and Jim Rash (as the effete Ghost of the Marquess of Queensberry).
It closely resembles “Scooby Doo” both in its animation style and its setup: with Mike and crew tooling around in a van literally unmasking the bad guys (Mike unleashes his lethal fists when required).
“It’s like ‘Scooby Doo’ meets ‘The A-Team,” Tyson says. “They came to me with the idea and I didn’t think it would be a good idea but I tried it out … and I saw some footage and it was wonderful.”
Tyson, 48, starred in Animal Planet’s “Taking on Tyson” in 2011, which revolved around his love of pigeons. He says he has no problem with the “Mike Tyson Mysteries” pigeon.
“He’s really crazy. He’s a mess,” he says, laughing. “I think it’s awesome. He’s just a disgusting character.”
Tyson says he was a fan of “Scooby Doo” and still watches cartoons — “ ‘Mickey Mouse,’ ‘Mighty Mouse,’ ‘Tom & Jerry,’ all that stuff” — and recorded some of his dialogue a few weeks after agreeing to do the show.
“The executives didn’t believe it was my voice,” he says. “I had to do a film of me explaining to them that, yes, this really is Mike Tyson. This is my voice.
“I took to it like a duck to water,” he says. “I just read the dialogue and ad-lib some stuff.”
The ‘Real’ story in NYC
Freshman talk show “The Real” is starting to make some noise in New York — and, let’s face it, isn’t that what really counts?
Nationally, the show (Tamar Braxton, Loni Love, Adrienne Bailon, Jeannie Mai, Tamera Mowry-Housley) averaged 1.2 million viewers for the week of Oct. 12, fourth among new daytime entries.
But in New York, where it airs at 11 a.m. on Ch. 5 — opposite warhorse “The View” on Ch. 7 — “The Real” has been gaining traction among its core female viewership.
In women 25-54, for instance, it’s gone from a 0.8 premiere week (Sept. 15) to a 1.5 (Oct. 12), and from a 0.9 to a 1.2 in women 18-49 (in that same time frame).
Last, but not least …
“Hog Dawgs,” a series about outdoorswomen hunting predatory beasts, premieres Monday (7 p.m.) on Sportsman Channel … FX has canceled “The Bridge” (Diane Kruger, Demian Bichir) after two seasons … Without a paddle? “Schitt’s Creek,” starring former “SCTV”ers Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara — and Daniel Levy (Eugene’s son) — will premiere on POP (currently TVGN) early next year. It’s about a once-wealthy family forced to live in a small town (Schitt’s Creek) they once bought as a joke.