| Michael & Michael Have Issues | |
|---|---|
Series promotional intertitle |
|
| Format | Comedy, sketch comedy |
| Created by | Michael Ian Black Michael Showalter |
| Starring | Michael Ian Black Michael Showalter Josh Pais |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Michael Ian Black Michael Showalter Lou Wallach Jim Biederman |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Comedy Central |
| Original run | July 15, 2009 – August 26, 2009 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Michael & Michael Have Issues (MMHI) was a cable television comedy series starring comedians and actors Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, who created the series. Both comedians appeared together in several TV comedy series, including The State, and Stella. The show premiered on July 15, 2009, on Comedy Central.[1] Showalter and Black confirmed on March 3, 2010 via their Twitter accounts that the show had been canceled.[2][3][4]
Contents |
The series stars Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter playing fictionalized versions of themselves. As stated in a recent New York Times article, "Mr. Black and Mr. Showalter play the bickering stars of a sketch comedy program who never miss an opportunity to undermine each other. In between skits about stores that sell only sweatpants and characters like John the British Fork Offerer, narrative segments chronicle the not-so-fictional frenemies who constantly step on each other’s toes, even in seemingly inconsequential situations like an interview for a high school newspaper or the search for a birthday gift for their producer."[5]
| # | Title | Original airdate | Prod. Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Greg the Intern" | July 15, 2009 | 101 |
| Jealousies flare when Black and Showalter battle for their intern's (Greg) admiration. Sketches: Teenage Abstinence. | |||
| 2 | "Biederman's Birthday" | July 22, 2009 | 102 |
| What to give the boss who has everything? Pot. Sketches: King's Gift, Weatherman. | |||
| 3 | "Matchmakers" | July 29, 2009 | 103 |
| Black and Showalter conspire to play cupid.[6] | |||
| 4 | "Pulling Your Weight" | August 5, 2009 | 104 |
| Black leaves the brunt of the workload for Showalter.[6] | |||
| 5 | "College" | August 12, 2009 | 105 |
| Black and Showalter secure a college gig.[6] | |||
| 6 | "Sh... Bag House" | August 19, 2009 | 106 |
| Showalter proves to be a problematic houseguest.[6] | |||
| 7 | "Frogbox" | August 26, 2009 | 107 |
| Series finale. The guys agree to appear on a competing sketch show.[6] | |||
The series received a mix of good and bad reviews. The Hartford Advocate stated that "With Michael and Michael Have Issues, they've made arguably perfect comedy for the Comedy Central audience, which is basically everyone."[7] Randee Dawn of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "the Michaels have raw material in spades. Thus far, they haven't been able to harness it and make it consistently funny. For now, MMHI's real issue is that it's likely to be just another in a string of missed opportunities."[8] In the Boston Globe, Joanna Weiss wrote, "Black and Showalter work together perfectly..." and "It’s a lot to cram into a measly half-hour, but each part - and each person - makes the other one funnier."[9] IGN gave the first season a 7/10 stating that "it was a good season but never great" and that none of the episodes truly stood out.[10]
Soon after the show was canceled, Comedy Central began airing reruns of the first season, to which Michael Ian Black responded via his Twitter account:
"Apparently Comedy Central is airing my canceled show right now, to which I graciously say, "FUCK YOU, Comedy Central."[11]
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