Derrick Comedy is an Internet sketch comedy group from New York University. The group has a large YouTube following and was mentioned in Rolling Stone in July 2007.[1] Their video "Bro Rape" has garnered over 8 million views.[2] They have released videos online, performed sold-out shows at venues such as New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, produced the film Mystery Team, and have appeared on national television.
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Derrick Comedy consists of actors Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson, and Donald Glover, who also writes original music as Childish Gambino.[3] Derrick's director is Dan Eckman[4] and their producer is Meggie McFadden.[5]
The members of Derrick Comedy met at NYU while performing/directing Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz[6][7]
Even though they are all experienced improvisors trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, all of Derrick's videos are tightly scripted. Some of their videos include "New Bike," in which a boy threatens to kill his parents if they do not get him a new bicycle; "Opposite Day," in which an office changes Fridays from "Casual Friday" to "Opposite Day," likely in response to the boss's wife's infidelity; "Girls are not to be trusted", in which a film student makes a series of movies chewing out his girlfriend; and "National Spelling Bee", in which every contestant in a spelling bee was told to spell the word "niggerfaggot". They also have a video called "Jerry" concerning a boy who has had an "accident" in his pants.
Donald Glover currently plays Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community[8] and was discovered when he was offered the part of Troy after series creator Dan Harmon came out of a showing of Mystery Team.[9][10] The entire troupe (with the exception of Glover) appears in the episode Romantic Expressionism as Pierce's joke writers.
Dominic Dierkes has made a cameo appearance on a video released by The Onion on a fictional World of Warcraft expansion titled The World of World of Warcraft, where he praises the game's "realism" such as calling an in-game internet service provider. In the video, his name is Kyle Dierkes. He and fellow Derrick member DC Pierson also appeared in the CH: LIVE video series for Collegehumor.[11][12] Dierkes is currently a staff writer for the animated show Allen Gregory created by and starring Jonah Hill.
DC Pierson has published a novel entitled The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To.[13] He hosted New York University's Ultra Violet Live Talent Competition in 2010[14]
In January 2008, the group announced that they are taking a break from making internet videos while they work on their first full-length feature film entitled Mystery Team, a comedy involving a childish trio of senior high school students solving a serious crime. Mystery Team premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the fall of 2009 by Roadside Attractions. Mystery Team was released on DVD on May 25, 2010.