david wain-related stories
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 9:32AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Web, Adult Swim, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Two very unique comedies will get a time slot on an equally unique cable network.
Conan O'Brien's "Conaco" production company and actor Rob Corrdry both scored spots on Adult Swim for two new live-action sitcoms.
O'Brien's company won a spot for Eagleheart, a show about a fading TV star who wins a chance for glory once more on a production in Texas, but constantly clashes with the low-level TV exec in charge of the show.
Corrdry's medical drama spoof web series
Childrens' Hospital will also go to Adult Swim. The channel will show re-edited versions of the episodes that aired on TheWB.com as well as produce new ones. Corrdry originally pitched the show to
Comedy Central, but negotiations broke down with the network, probably because the show didn't have enough bimbo strippers and shirtless fat guys to fill their quota (cough,
Secret Girlfriend, cough).
Posted Jul 21st 2009 3:00PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Video, Reality-Free
The Kevin Bacon Game used to be the ultimate litmus test to gauge your level of connectedness in Hollywood. You just tried to link up your name to King Bacon and if you were three links or more, you couldn't even get a Melrose Avenue street bum to spit on you for a quarter.
That game has officially been replaced by something much narrower and definitely much cooler. It also puts me a link away to the Hollywood machine, which bumps me up to not having to pay that bum to spit on me.
I recently got an advance copy of
MTV's long awaited DVD box set of all four seasons of The State and found this personal connection in a sketch from the third season called "Fan Names."
Continue reading TV Squad's connection to MTV's The State
Posted Jul 15th 2009 8:35PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
When
Michael and Michael Have Issues premieres tonight at 10:30 PM on Comedy Central, it'll be a return to sketch comedy of sorts for Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter. The pair started out with
The State on MTV, as
this week's boxed set release reminded us. Their most recent TV project,
Stella, the show, with former
State member David Wain, wasn't really sketch as much as it was an exercise in absurdist slapstick.
Comedy Central has been showing episodes from the single season the show lasted in the run up to
Michael and Michael Have Issues, and it has been a pleasant reminder of Stella's brief experiment with a half-hour TV comedy. It's hard to imagine keeping that premise going - Wain, Black, and Showalter free associating with different guest stars season after season. But it's been fun to watch it again.
Continue reading Hoping for a healthy dose of sketch comedy from Michael and Michael Have Issues
Posted Jul 14th 2009 3:05PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
TV bloggers get a lot of free DVDs to review. They range from the dull and drab to titles that some people would run over someone on the way to the movie store to get.
It's very rare, however, for anyone to get their grubby little hands on a title powerful enough to reverse the polarity of the universe and restore order to chaos. I managed to score that very thing a week before anyone could and I didn't have to sell my soul, my first-born child or any of my bodily objects to get it.
Continue reading The new State DVD: You'll wanna dip your balls in it!
Posted Apr 20th 2009 6:07PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Music and Variety, Interviews, Reality-Free
Get ready to utter the biggest "At last!" since NBC put the
Knight Rider remake out of its long and winding misery.
TV Shows on DVD reported
MTV's official announcement earlier this morning that the entire sketch comedy series will hit store shelves on July 14th. That was followed by a trailer release of the DVD on
The State's official site. It's going to have full commentary from the cast, four interview features on the troupe's origins and the show's many catchphrases, some unaired sketches and outtakes. It sounds like this five disc set will be chocked full of
Stately goodness. You'll want to do a lot more than just dip your balls in it. Please keep those things to yourself.
Founding
State member, writer and
Role Models director
David Wain was nice enough to give us his first interview (via IM, no less). He talked about the work that went in to getting things to this stage, why the announcement first appeared on cast member
Joe Lo Truglio's site and what he and the rest of his crew hope to accomplish with their DVD.
Continue reading David Wain tells us: The State DVD is on!
Posted Apr 20th 2009 10:05AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
There seems to be some mixed messages on the status of
The State DVD. Those of you who are sitting on the edge of your computer chair, chewing your fingernails down to the marrow know this isn't really new news.
This time, however, there seems to be disagreement within the ranks of the comedy troupe.
We reported earlier this month about
State member and recent
Reno 911! addition
Joe Lo Truglio announcing a release date for the long beleaguered DVD of the complete series. The following week,
the group's official site, run by writer, director and cast member
David Wain according to their
FAQ, denied that any date for the DVD's release has been set.
Continue reading Another colossal exclusive! The State restates the state of The State DVD
Posted Feb 5th 2009 5:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
If you grew up watching MTV in the '90s, then you probably remember
The State. If you don't – and you're an American between the age of 30 and 35 – do a YouTube search for "I wanna dip my balls in it" and let the memories flood right on back.
I credit the irreverent MTV sketch comedy show with keeping me from slipping into a full-blown depression during my teenage years, aka the angsty, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains-drenched years.
The State ran from 1993 to 1995 and helped launch the careers of some of my favorite comic actors, writers and filmmakers, including David Wain (
Wet Hot American Summer,
Role Models), Thomas Lennon (
Reno 911,
Balls of Fury) and Michael Ian Black (
Stella,
Ed). All 11 members of the comedy troupe reunited recently to perform new material at SF Sketchfest in January. The
A.V. Club talked to State alums Wain, Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver this week about the reunion and about their future plans. Among the things that came up in the interview was the status of that promised complete-series DVD.
Continue reading Hey MTV, I want The State on DVD already
Posted Jul 31st 2007 2:23PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Web, Celebrities
Did you know that online video is popular? It's true! Everybody's doing it. Well, I doubt Bea Arthur is doing online video, but still...
Today, MyDamnChannel.com launched. It's a new online video channel put together by some big celebs, including Harry Shearer (The Simpsons), David Wain (Stella, the new movie The Ten), and music producer Don Was. It was created by former CBS Radio and MTV exec Rob Barnett.
As with any new launch, the content is hit or miss, but there's a surprising number of videos here, including several from Shearer and Wain and a couple from web video icon Andy Milonakis. You need Flash 9 to view the videos.
[via TV Tattle]
Posted Jan 28th 2007 2:03PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Comedy Central
Do you love Stella, the odd little comedy trio featuring David Wain, Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black? If so, you'll be interested to learn that the guys are looking for someone to design a logo for new Stella merchandise. It's time to get out your crayons and glitter and see what you can come up with. Just don't use anything from their Comedy Central series or any related promotional images, that's not allowed. You can submit as many times as you wish, as long as you get your entry in by February 16. The guys will vote on their favorite and announce the winner on February 23. More details can be found on
Wain's MySpace blog and the
Stella Merchandise MySpace page.
Posted Jan 23rd 2007 12:30PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, Celebrities, Comedy Central
Former
Stella and
State alum Michael Showalter and David Wain have been making entertainment news these past couple of weeks. Showalter debuted his online series
The Michael Showalter Showalter on College Humor with
Comedian of Comedy Zach Galifianakis as his guest. (If you live in LA, you can catch Zach
free tonight at the Upright Citizen's Brigade theater with VH1 talking head Doug Benson.)
David Wain debuted his latest directorial outing
The Ten at Sundance. The feature, which sounds like Kieslowski's
Decalogue gone zany, puts together ten shorts - each musing on one of the ten commandments. The screening has been getting
positive reviews. Those of us without Park City press passes will hopefully be enjoying that film later this year. Keep your eye on
The Ten's website for more info.
Posted Sep 26th 2006 3:42PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, MTV
I have never bought a television show from iTunes... until now. MTV's sketch comedy show
The State is now for sale only on iTunes (it's not even on DVD).
The State aired on MTV from 1993-1995. It was both weird and hilarious. The network essentially gave a bunch of college graduates free reign over their own show. It gave some of my favorite comedy actors their start, including Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Kerri Kenney and Thomas Lennon.
Season one is currently for sale, and it includes characters Doug, Louie, Barry & Levon... and $240 worth of pudding. According to
The State website, run by David Wain, MTV will release subsequent seasons if downloads are popular and the network may even decide to put the damn show on DVD already.
[Via
Pop Candy]
Posted May 27th 2006 3:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Comedy Central
It's official (after many fits and starts and rumors): the first season of Comedy Central's comedy show
Stella is
coming to DVD on September 12. The show starred Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. I thought it was sort of a modern Three Stooges.
Now, the DVD set says first season, but was there a second season of the show, or is this a complete series set?
Posted Mar 9th 2006 9:21AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Talent
If you're lucky enough to live in New York City
and have an unusual sense of humor, you will totally dig this. Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain are
judging a parody of
American Idol, called
American Schmidol. They're teaming up with Heeb Magazine and
JDUB Records for a "giant-screen karaoke competition" at the
Bowery
Ballroom on Monday, March 13. I can't figure out which one will be the Simon character. Any of them could pull it
off.
If you're like me and you don't live in NYC, but you're missing
Stella and you're wondering
when it'll be back (Hello? Comedy Central?)*, you can get your David Wain fix on
his website. He has put up a scan of an article in Tokion Magazine called
"Writing Comedy", which features Wain and David Cross. Or, you can download the audio version of the
interview
here.
*Thanks to commenter, Matt, who
pointed out that Stella is not getting a second season on Comedy Central (despite its title as one of the best TV shows
of 2005 by EW magazine). The
official Stella website confirms it.
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