The CollegeHumor Show

The CollegeHumor Show is an American television sitcom that premiered on MTV on February 8, 2009 and also aired on MuchMusic.^[1] The show is a scripted sitcom with sketch comedy elements. It is written by and stars nine actual CollegeHumor editorial staff members, who play fictionalized versions of themselves. The show is an adaptation of the style of the long-running Hardly Working short film series created for the CollegeHumor site, made more suitable for the longer, televised format.^[2]

After the conclusion of the six episode season, there has been little to no talk of continuing the series.

The series also spawned the spin-off show Pranked, hosted by Streeter Seidell and Amir Blumenfeld and airing on MTV.^[3]

Cast

Main characters

In the show, the actual CollegeHumor (and CollegeHumor Show) writers play fictionalized versions of themselves. There is no single "star" of the show; rather, the nine main characters function as an ensemble. For the most part, the characters are self-centered, operating according to their immediate desires rather than making rational or sensitive decisions.

• Ricky (Ricky Van Veen) is the editor-in-chief, a wealthy, image-obsessed young man who craves the attention of D-list celebrities.

• Sam (Samuel "Sam" Reich) manages the writing staff, though he is essentially as immature as the rest of them. Sam has a close friendship with Dan.

• Dan (Dan Gurewitch) is a bright-eyed, enthusiastic writer who often had a naive approach to women and the world.

• Amir (Amir Blumenfeld) is the outcast of the gang, socially inept and prone to fits of irrational anger. He wants nothing more than to be best friends with Jake (Jake Hurwitz). Their dysfunctional relationship was created and cultivated in their online video series Jake and Amir.

• Jake (Jake Hurwitz) is the office ladies' man. He's enamored with Sarah, and spends much of his time attempting to convince Amir that the two of them are not, in fact, best friends, he is sometimes up showed by Amir.

• Sarah (Sarah Schneider), the most down-to-earth member of the group. As she is a bit of a tomboy, the guys on staff treat her like a sister. She is often the sole voice of reason in an otherwise chaotic office.

• Streeter (Streeter Seidell), the front page editor, is moodier than the rest of the writers, and prone to emitting a signature whine when he doesn't get his way.

• Jeff (Jeffrey "Jeff" Rubin), managing editor and video game fanatic, has a more "go with the flow" attitude.

• Pat (Patrick "Pat" Cassels) tends to be more eccentric and put-upon than the other characters.

Supporting cast

• Nick Kroll as Chuck Paulson, CEO of CollegeHumor's fictional rival website GiggleBarn.biz.
• Josh Ruben as Trip, an insensitive magician that the CH boys attempt to set up with Sarah. Josh is another actual CollegeHumor employee, occasionally appearing in sketches featured on the site.

Episode list

Production

The CollegeHumor Show is filmed inside the actual offices of Connected Ventures, which owns CollegeHumor and a series of other websites. The production crew is the same team responsible for the original comedy videos that CollegeHumor produces.

Main crew

The nine main actors on the show also comprise the show's writing staff.

• Scott Tomlinson is the show runner and executive producer.
• Ricky Van Veen is an executive producer.
• Josh Abramson is an executive producer.
• Sam Grossman is an executive in charge of production.
• Sam Reich is an executive producer and the show's director, having directed all six of the first season's episodes. He also co-wrote the episode "Rival Site" with Dan Gurewitch and Amir Blumenfeld.
• Dan Gurewitch and Amir Blumenfeld co-wrote three episodes ("Rival Site," "The Morning After" and "Armageddon"). In addition, Gurewitch wrote the episode "Sarah's New Boyfriend" with Sarah Schneider, and Blumenfeld wrote the episode "Interns" with Patrick Cassels. There are no specific writers credited to the episode "Hot Girl."
• Jake Hurwitz, Jeff Rubin, Streeter Seidell and Kevin Corrigan are staff writers on the show.
• Vincent Peone is the Director of Photography.

Reception

The show has seen mixed responses from critics. Time Magazine's TV critic James Poniewozik hailed the show as "really funny," noting that CollegeHumor is "doing comedy that specifically works on television, as opposed to simply porting over viral videos to a slightly bigger screen."^[9] Liz Shannon Miller, editor for online streaming site Newteevee, criticized the show's sitcom format and said she "would have preferred a stronger debut," but gave the premiere four stars out of a possible five.^[10] The show was cancelled after six episodes.

References

External links

• Official website
• NYTimes
• Street Fighter RPG Brazil - An interview with Sam Reich