The 12 Finest Comedy Central Exhibits, Ranked

The early days of cable had been wonderful. TV units did not go darkish for hours at a time. As an alternative, folks had 24-access to no matter leisure they wished, and this led to a proliferation of specialty channels that targeted on one factor. Enter The Comedy Channel and Ha!, which targeted totally on sitcom reruns and outdated motion pictures. These two channels would later merge right into a single entity, Comedy Central, with a higher emphasis on authentic programming. 

It did not take lengthy for the Comedy Central to seek out its footing and launch a large number of animated sequence, sketch comedy reveals, and stand-up specials. The channel quickly grew to become the place to go to to see what rising comedic expertise was prepared to interrupt into the mainstream. Contemplating that comedy is subjective, it could be tough to rank one of the best Comedy Central reveals of all time. What’s hilarious to 1 individual might be grating to a different. Regardless, most individuals with a wholesome humorous bone ought to agree these are the sequence that helped make Comedy Central what it’s. 

Listed below are one of the best Comedy Central reveals of all time.

Many people will let you know HBO’s “Ladies” is the definitive millennial present, exemplifying what it meant to be an adolescent coming into maturity within the early 2010s. With all due respect, no different sequence touches on the real absurdity of being an grownup in that period fairly like “Workaholics.” 

The sequence follows three slackers — Adam (Adam DeVine), Anders (Andres Holm), and Blake (Blake Anderson) — working a do-nothing workplace job whereas nonetheless attempting to get together exhausting. “Workaholics” is an ideal showcase of arrested improvement outdoors, properly, “Arrested Improvement,” which can be a really humorous present. However “Workaholics” actually honed in on the awkward transition from faculty to the workforce, resulting in hilarious conditions like the blokes dropping acid on a enterprise journey and needing to fake to be regular.

What actually made “Workaholics” click on was the chemistry between the three leads. Their conversations had been closely improvised, so their reactions and quips really feel off-the-cuff. The present did not overstay its welcome at simply seven seasons, however we’re nonetheless fairly bitter Paramount+ cancelled a proposed “Workaholics” film. We would like to see if these three ever grew up regardless that we’re fairly assured that is not possible.

“Drunk Historical past” looks like a present that might solely exist on Comedy Central (regardless that they ended up canceling it after an preliminary season 7 renewal). It is a non-traditional premise the place host Derek Waters speaks with comedians to recount some odd story from historical past, all whereas the storytelling is inebriated. Their drunken ramblings then get reenacted by actors in fairly wonderful period-accurate costumes, who additionally mouth alongside to the story, slurring and all. 

The comedians had been enjoyable sufficient, however it was additionally a blast to see what visitor stars they might get to painting the historic figures. Alia Shawkat portrays Alexander Hamilton throughout a particular episode the place Lin-Manuel Miranda drunkenly talks concerning the founding father who did not throw away his shot. Another notable portrayals over time included Bob Odenkirk as Richard Nixon, Jack Black as Orson Welles, and Jesse Plemons as Edgar Allen Poe. The present’s a ton of enjoyable to observe, however you additionally get the sense that everybody concerned is having a blast principally reenacting higher-budget center faculty performs. 

Not solely was it hilarious, however you truly discovered a little bit one thing about historical past. We deliberately use the phrase “little” as a result of it wasn’t all the time simple to make out what exactly was alleged to be taking place if the visitor host obtained a little bit too wasted. 

“Key & Peele” proved itself to be among the finest sketch comedy sequence of the twenty first century with so many instantaneous classics. From the “Substitute Trainer” sketch involving Keegan-Michael Key mispronouncing white college students’ names to Key and Jordan Peele enjoying overly enthusiastic valet drivers, the 2 had impeccable chemistry. 

One of many hardest elements of sketch comedy is discovering the proper option to finish a bit. Monty Python famously did not have buttons, as they transitioned from one scene to the subsequent. However “Key & Peele” might discover an excellent ending joke to cap off a sequence of different nice jokes. As a testomony to how well-received the sequence was on the time, Key reprised his position of Barack Obama’s anger translator throughout an precise White Home Correspondent’s Dinner. Getting a thumbs-up from the president must be a great way of guaranteeing one’s place within the zeitgeist.

Jordan Peele has since retired from appearing and gone on to develop into a horror movie auteur director, however we actually want he’d nonetheless give sketch an opportunity at times as a result of he was simply so good at it. “Key & Peele” was a sketch present for our occasions. It was absurd and wasn’t afraid to supply social commentary with out ever feeling preachy. It remembered that any good sketch must be humorous, at the start. 

“Broad Metropolis” adopted in the identical vein as “Workaholics” however from the feminine perspective. You will have two ladies coming of age in New York and getting messy alongside the way in which. There are ample relatable moments, reminiscent of feeling like a baller since you obtained an sudden verify for $8,000. However the factor that helped set “Broad Metropolis” from different reveals of its sort was that you may actually really feel the characters, significantly Abbi (Abbi Jacobson), eager to develop up however feeling like there are obstacles each step of the way in which. 

One other facet that made “Broad Metropolis” particular was the way it centered feminine friendships above all else. Far too many reveals depict ladies in competitors with each other, however Abbi and Ilana (Ilana Glazer) rejoice each other’s victories. Once they do battle, they resolve it amicably and return to being their very own cheerleaders. Not solely that, however the present was extremely intercourse optimistic, particularly when it got here to centering feminine pleasure, and it confirmed them having fun with medicine recreationally with out it being seen as such an enormous deal (except a drug journey was integral to the episode’s plot). In a comedy panorama the place it is too simple to get cynical, “Broad Metropolis” was a breath of recent, hopeful air. 

“Comedy Central Presents” wasn’t only a nice present, it was an incubator for up-and-coming comedic expertise. The present ran from 1998 to 2011, and through that point, it featured many stand-up comics performing fast 30-minute units. You by no means knew who was going to take the mic subsequent, as a result of the present largely pulled from comics who weren’t that well-known on the time outdoors of perhaps some bit elements on different Comedy Central sequence. It offered a chance to present new comedians a shot, and within the occasion Comedy Central gave them an hour-long particular later, you already knew you had been in for a deal with.

Gabriel Iglesias sells out stadiums today, however again in 2003, he was simply hoping for his large break. Comics like Daniel Tosh and Demetri Martin lower their tooth on the stand-up circuit earlier than getting their very own Comedy Central reveals years down the highway. John Mulaney (above), Bo Burnham, and Iliza Shlesinger all had moments to indicate what they had been able to earlier than turning into large names. It is a disgrace there’s probably not a present like “Comedy Central Presents” any longer (although it did get retooled as “Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents” for eight seasons from 2012 to 2019), as a result of it actually was integral in fostering new expertise within the leisure ecosystem.

“Strangers With Sweet” emerged in 1999 as Comedy Central’s first live-action narrative TV present. and so they swung for the fences with this one. The sequence follows a 46-year-old former drug addict (Amy Sedaris) who goes again to highschool for a second lease on life. The sequence was largely formatted across the tone of afterschool specials the place youngsters would study vital classes, besides in “Strangers With Sweet,” they often take away the mistaken morals. 

“Strangers With Sweet” ran for 3 seasons, and truthfully, it is form of a miracle it obtained that far. It is such an odd, bizarrely pleasant present that in all probability would not get made within the first place today. It is since develop into a cult traditional with followers outdated and new alike loving Amy Sedaris’ tackle Jerri Clean, whose facial expressions are sufficient to promote jokes alone. It is an ideal demonstration of how one of the best Comedy Central reveals are these the place the creators are simply attempting to make themselves snort moderately than determining what might enchantment to probably the most demographics.

“Reno 911!” is a kind of reveals that might’ve run indefinitely if it wished to. And in a means, it form of did. Whereas the primary sequence has gone off the air, the present has popped again up over time with film specials and a renewed run on Quibi. Keep in mind Quibi? The “Reno 911!” reboot might be probably the most memorable factor the short-lived streaming service did, and it wasn’t even their authentic undertaking to start with. 

“Reno 911!” makes use of a mockumentary format within the fashion of “Cops.” Solely this time, it is following a bunch of incompetent regulation enforcement brokers (performed by many members of “The State” comedy group and extra) out of Reno, Nevada who frequently encounter wacky residents breaking the regulation. Because of the heavy use of improv, “Reno 911!” managed a naturalistic vibe to the place the actors might react freely to any of the zany conditions they discovered themselves in whereas on the beat. The beauty of this present is that whereas there have been storylines, every scene typically works by itself as a humorous sketch, so you may tune in at any second and benefit from the hijinks. 

Attributable to his anti-transgender sentiments, Dave Chappelle spends most of his time today sparking justifiable outrage. It makes one lengthy for the times the place he had the sharpest and funniest sketch comedy present on tv within the early 2000s with “Chappelle’s Present.” Comedy Central tried to discover a alternative when Chappelle left the sequence behind with the likes of “Thoughts of Mencia” and “The Jeff Dunham Present,” however “Chappelle’s Present” took among the greatest dangers in comedy throughout its period and was tough to copy.

The very first episode has a sketch about how the chief of a white supremacist motion is a blind Black man. The present informed you instantly what its ethos was, and from there, the present created a litany of catchphrases youngsters would yell at each other, like “I am Rick James, b****!” 

Chappelle himself left the sequence as a consequence of issues that his intent with the comedy wasn’t coming throughout. He was apprehensive he was selling racial stereotypes moderately than dissecting them. What number of sketch comedy reveals all through historical past warrant such a degree of introspection? For what it is price, it does appear clear the place Chappelle stands on such points via his sketches, however leaving a present after solely a pair years lends to its general legacy. 

How do you slender down the greatest “Nathan for You” episodes? Each is full of such cringeworthy delights that you simply simply must see what Nathan Fielder will get as much as subsequent. He’ll lead a drunk into a store to interrupt after which pay for stuff after which open a Dumb Starbucks, making nationwide headlines within the course of. Fielder, who went to one in every of Canada’s high enterprise colleges, goes to small enterprise homeowners to current a wacky thought of how to make more cash. Throwing motive out the window, the homeowners agree and permit Fielder to wreak havoc wherever he goes. 

It is hilarious to see the lengths folks will go to, as a result of if Fielder’s adopted round by a digital camera crew, that should imply he is aware of what he is doing, proper? It is all aided by Fielder’s socially awkward persona, and the sequence will get downright dramatic every time he seeks to seek out connection, whether or not it is romantic or simply making a brand new buddy. Greater than maybe every other TV host, Fielder understands what dynamic would make for one of the best TV episode. He is wacky when he must get somebody stuffy out of their shell, but when somebody he is interviewing goes off on a weird tangent, he is more than pleased to allow them to fly additional off the deal with.

“Nathan for You” is peak tv and set the stage for an much more bold Fielder undertaking, “The Rehearsal” (now with two seasons on the time of this writing). It is Nathan Fielder’s world, and we’re all simply dwelling and laughing in it. 

“The Each day Present” is one in every of Comedy Central’s longest-running sequence, however it took some time to determine what this sort of present might do. It first materialized in 1996 with Craig Kilborn because the host, and whereas it was a parody of stories reveals, there was an inconsequential feeling to the proceedings. It felt extra like a riff on native information, however that modified as soon as Jon Stewart took the helm. From that time ahead, the present took a extra international perspective, satirizing present occasions. There have been nonetheless jokes, however you additionally had Stewart himself providing a perspective that was exhausting to come back by on common information packages. 

Through the 2008 presidential election, “The Each day Present with Jon Stewart” grew to become many individuals’s go-to information supply. Many on the time thought-about it simply as credible because the common information, and that may be considerably terrifying to consider, even when they did provide a sobering but satirical perspective on the week’s headlines. At the least folks had been staying knowledgeable on present occasions from someplace. Finally, Stewart left, and Trevor Noah took the reins even, although we’re nonetheless adamant Roy Wooden Jr. ought to’ve been the host in some unspecified time in the future. 

Stewart has since returned to quickly fill in for internet hosting duties once in a while, however “The Each day Present” has given rise to so many different satirical information sources. “Final Week Tonight with John Oliver” and “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” owe a debt of gratitude to “The Each day Present” for extra causes than simply these reveals’ hosts getting their begin on Comedy Central. “The Each day Present” set the template for the right way to be each hilarious and informative. 

We beforehand mentioned how “The Each day Present with Jon Stewart” spawned quite a few different jokey information reveals. Nonetheless, the present’s best present to popular culture is its sister program that went even additional in skewering each politics and the media: “The Colbert Report.” 

Stephen Colbert, who obtained his begin on each “Strangers With Sweet” and “The Each day Present” on Comedy Central, created a satirical persona who was extra akin to a Fox Information present host than Stewart. Through the present’s run, he would reward then-president George W. Bush and bash any Democrats who obtained in his means. After all, this was all in jest. By adopting the rhetoric utilized by the likes of Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, and Invoice O’Reilly, Colbert identified the very hypocrisy on the coronary heart of such hosts. At occasions, it appeared like Colbert was extra curious about selling himself as a model than reporting on the information, and if that is not the most pitch-perfect commentary on the place the media is as we speak, I do not know what’s. 

In lots of methods, we in all probability want “The Colbert Report” as we speak greater than ever because the strains between details and falsities develop into more and more blurred. Certain, you may nonetheless discover him on “The Late Present with Stephen Colbert,” however it simply does not really feel the identical. We wish the Colbert that is prepared to talk reality to energy moderately than be one other cog within the late evening media machine. 

Deciding one of the best Comedy Central reveals is not simple. Everybody has a distinct comedic sensibility. Some folks love high-brow witticisms whereas others take pleasure in a soccer to the groin. You might have watched among the reveals on this record and ignored others, however regardless of who you’re or what kinds of jokes you want, it is not possible to disregard “South Park.” It has been a Comedy Central establishment for many years now, evolving with the occasions. In reality, “South Park” makes for a reasonably nice cultural Rorschach check, as a gaggle of individuals can watch the identical episode and are available away with completely totally different views as to who the present is making enjoyable of. 

“South Park” has incited controversy since its inception, but when wanting again on the older episodes, it virtually feels quaint. Yeah, there are little youngsters calling one another horrible names, however the present would evolve into genuinely pushing the boundaries of excellent style. Finally, the present would start incorporating social commentary into virtually each episode, aided by the truth that every episode was written and animated in a single week in order that it might touch upon issues that occurred only a few days prior. The very fact “South Park” has launched a number of episodes about presidential elections the day after the election occurred is nothing wanting astonishing. 

Any TV present that is on the air for over 20 years goes to have some low factors, and there is no denying “South Park” has its share of them. But, it is the present that is develop into most affiliated with Comedy Central. Find it irresistible or hate it, there is no refuting the present’s impression.