The Tenderloins

The Impractical Jokers, stars of Impractical Jokers. Left-to-right: Quinn, Vulcano, Gatto and Murray.

The Tenderloins is an American comedy troupe currently composed of Joseph Anthony "Joe" Gatto (born June 5, 1976), James Stephen "Murr" Murray (born May 1, 1976), Brian Michael "Q" Quinn (born March 14, 1976), and Salvatore Edward Anthony "Sal" Vulcano (born November 5, 1976). The group currently stars in the truTV television series Impractical Jokers, which premiered on December 15, 2011.

Career

Stage

The Tenderloins were formed in 1999 as a live improv comedy troupe. The original line-up consisted of Mike Boccio, Joe Gatto, James Murray and Sal Vulcano. Trained in the teachings of Del Close and Charna Halpern, the Tenderloins began performing long-form improvisation in 2000, followed by sketch comedy soon after, in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, in addition to the San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival and the Miami Improv Festival.

For a time, the troupe consisted of five members, with the addition of Gideon Horowitz.

Internet success

Following years of live shows, in 2007, The Tenderloins redirected their talents to filmed comedic sketches. Brian Quinn subsequently replaced Mike Boccio as the troupe's fourth member.

The Tenderloins comedic sketches have accumulated millions of views on YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, and other websites. In 2007, the troupe won the $100,000 grand prize in the NBC It’s Your Show competition for the sketch “Time Thugs”.

Television

The Tenderloins in Times Square in 2010.

Following the troupe's online successes, the four were signed to develop a scripted comedy pilot for Spike TV based on their own lives. The pilot was shot on location in 2008 on Staten Island, as well as other locations around New York City. Spike TV ultimately passed on the series. A second pilot starring The Tenderloins was named as an official selection of the 2009 New York Television Festival.

On April 12, 2011, truTV announced the new series Impractical Jokers, starring and executive-produced by the Tenderloins, which premiered on December 15, 2011. Season 1 consisted of 17 half-hour episodes. The first season was watched by over 32 million viewers.

The show's 28-episode second season premiered on December 13, 2012,[1] and its 31-episode third season premiered on January 2, 2014.[2] On April 21, 2014, truTV announced that the series has been renewed for a 26-episode fourth season.[3] With the fourth season renewal, a 6-episode spinoff series, Jokers Wild! was also announced.[3]

Podcast

The group began hosting a podcast in April 2012. It was available on their official website and iTunes. It has been replaced by a new podcast, hosted by Sal and Q, called "What Say You".

External links

References

  1. ↑ Bibel, Sara (February 20, 2013). "truTV Orders Additional Episodes of Hit Series 'Impractical Jokers' and 'Hardcore Pawn: Chicago'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Bibel, Sara (July 8, 2013). "'Impractical Jokers' Renewed for Season 3 by truTV; New Series 'Jokers After Party' Greenlit". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kondolojy, Amanda (April 21, 2014). "'Impractical Jokers' Renewed by TruTV; Joins Six New Series Greenlights". Zap2it. Retrieved April 22, 2014.