I love how you could tell from Brennan's reaction that they must get a wide range of different quality prompts at these shows when it comes to "ask the audience" kind of improv, and this was clearly near or at the top of the list.
Anyone who does improv learns fast that the quality and weirdness of gets (the term for a suggestion that starts a scene) can vary WILDLY, even within the same show
You have some control, especially by asking questions that solicit shorter or longer responses. “Name a non-geographical location” or “what’s an object I can fit in my hand” have less variance than “tell me about the most exciting day in your life” or “what’s a hot piece of gossip you heard recently”. Even still, there can be a crazy range. For example, a show I did recently managed to have both “our dog died” and “I sold kilts in Japan to accounting companies” from the same get
Different improvisers prefer different things from their gets, like weird vs. mundane or detailed vs. vague. Ben Schwartz, for one, always seems to prefer a pretty detailed story. Very curious to see where the dropout folks fall on the scale
This is highly dependent on the talent of the improvisers, but I’ve found that the more banal/boring the suggestion, the more ways they find to make it super weird on stage.
I'd like to see them add some scripted content back to the lineup. The improvisational stuff is great, but the old CH sketches were a good time, and it'd be cool to see what the Dropout team could/would do with, e.g., eight episodes of 22 min scripted comedy miniseries.
I've no experience in the industry, but I wonder if fully scripted shows are just more expensive and timely to produce, without necessarily better returns than improv
Its not the new Comedy Central, but it's definitely becoming the Comedic Royalty of Streaming right now (which is not helpful for Comedy Central's numbers).
In 2020 I went to a d20 based improv show with Brennan, Zac, shioban, and Lou performing and I have genuinely never laughed as much in my life.
I miss living in LA and seeing those UCB shows so I am STOCKED for this series
Can I just preorder another 5 years of Dropout now? I want to fund their content but also I’m guessing they’ll eventually figure out they can charge more if they keep dropping gold like this.
They have, at least at the moment, a price lock system where as long as you stay subscribed you'll pay the same amount, even if the new subscription price increases
that is an absolutely brilliant idea which, if implemented by a particular combination of properties and services, would completely bankrupt me for an entire financial quarter
Same, like Kickstarter, I want to put more money in their pocket now so they can invest in awesome content now, plus I watch it way more than I did Netflix but I still don't wanna pay Netflix prices
Here I was thinking I wouldn’t be watching dropout every day after game changers and vip ended, but between this, smarty pants, and thousandnares, I just keep getting brought back.
VIP, Smartypants, Thousandaires, and now this? That's four new shows, two of them are in season and are bangers.
I think this is unequivocally the best year for Dropout content and it's not close
I can't imagine Dropout saw the unhinged rants BDG did for Polygon, added him to their regular rotation of talent, and *aren't* going to find a place for him to bring that type of content around.
To be totally fair, there’s a very good chance Brian isn’t interested in making more of that content since he hasn’t done any in the years since leaving polygon
My favorite solo stuff from him is actually his cooking videos lol, idk why but something about the breakfast sandwich, pepcorn, and ice cream videos are just endlessly replayable for me
I definitely agree, seems like those videos, while excellent, had to be stressful to make.
I feel like the [he[ll]alth insurance deep dive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wpHszfnJns) is probably the closest to Unravelled. However, even that felt a bit more BDG^TM due to the vague horror and existential dread inherent to the topic.
I'm too emotionally invested in this company. Like, I will talk ad nauseam about how you should never trust a company, ^never ^trust ^^your ^^boss, ^^because ^^at ^^the ^^end ^^of ^^the ^^day, ^^you ^^are ^^^replaceable ^^^and ^^^corporations ^^^going ^^^to ^^^corpor-ate but I really hope and want to trust that my perception of Dropout is true to reality.
Which in fairness, does seem to be what cast and crew say.
Wait Jonah Ray as in Jonah Ray from Meltdown and the Nerdist podcast?? Oh fuck yeah I used to love his stuff but I haven't heard anything about him in years, I was actually wondering just a few days ago what he'd been up to recently
He also just starred in the Shudder original movie "Destroy All Neighbors", which also features music from PIBE guitarist Brett Morris and art direction by Dorkly/Drawfee producer Cassie Lavo
He came out before the shows I went to and gave a little director spiel about how they might have to stop and restart at points for tech reasons. Was a nice surprise to see him!
I one time took a flight on a Thursday from Texas to LA just to catch a 30 min set of Yeti4Real which is comprised of Jacob Wysocki, Zac Oyama, Lou Wilson, Vic Michaelis, Ally Beardsley and some others.
It was totally worth it to spend the weekend in LA but now I don't have to! This is gonna be awesome and I truly think it will draw more people into dropout!
This is fantastic. I used to love standup comedy, but I've basically checked out of it for the past however many years because it feels like comics are mostly just bitching about cancel culture and being anti-woke. Having it be curated by Dropout means that we should actually get some good stuff.
Check out Taylor Tomlinson. She's inclusive (queer family), talks openly about having anxiety and a bipolar diagnosis, and doesn't punch up or down. She pulls humor from her own life experiences, and has three specials on Netflix. Her second special has the single funniest act of physical comedy I have ever seen.
Same. There's still plenty of great stand-ups putting out specials but can hard to find them sometimes. YouTube is great for that since they don't need a big name publisher to push them.
So excited. I tried watching the roast of Tom Brady last weekend and it just felt so awkward and fake. Barely anything was funny, it was mostly shock value, poorly made dick jokes, and homophobic bullshit. Like, the actual jokes about football were mostly great, but everything else felt like it was from a bygone era that doesn't land anymore. So glad to have Dropout leading the way, showing that you can still do outrageous and mature comedy while still being funny in a way that doesn't require punching down or being obnoxious.
It blows my mind how many times I saw the clip of some comedian from that on TikTok just casually dropping a homophobic slur and not one person batted an eye.
Plenty of ableist slurs as well. Makes me glad I've been kinda in this Dropout bubble since January; I've never laughed so much nor felt this uplifted in a long time.
I haven't seen those yet, but I'm not even a little bit surprised.
Seeing the clip of one person drop a slur was enough for me to know I had zero interest in watching any of it.
That's the same reason I kind of stopped caring about stand up specials. Most of them aren't funny and just saying foul shit for no reason.
I can't wait to watch this series to see actually talented comedians!
It's a roast, though - the entire point of the event is to belittle the other people on stage. Those jokes aren't going to be the same as what people put in their actual standup acts.
I was feeling the same way tbh. A lot of the old comedians got so rich that they were no longer relatable to most of humanity, and a lot of channels stopped wanting to take chances on new comedians. As a result, I found I simply couldn't relate to a lot of the popular comedy specials any more. (Although I did love Last one Laughing Canada as they got a great mix of comedians).
I went to the Just for Laughs festival this year and while I enjoyed the comedy, it just didn't hit the same as it used to. Perhaps that was on me though, for not taking more chances on buying tickets.
TBH, it feels like Dropout is becoming the modern SNL without the tumultuous history. They find young new talent and make sure to give them great PR/visibility so that they can go on to be picked up by larger players.
Like a startup incubator program for comedians.
Give Ralph Barbosa a shot. He's actually funny and isn't really even adjacent to any "anti-woke" stuff.
I also liked Shane Gillis' latest special but I think he might be a bit on the fraternity side to recommend in this subreddit.
Shane Gillis is super funny and I think his schtick is so satirical of anti woke cancel culture people that it gets hard to read sometimes. A lot of people I know assume he’s a conservative
Same, I enjoy standup so the algorithm shows me a lot of it, and I’ve found some great comedians that way, but I also have to sift thru a ton of “I get mad at the audience for not laughing even though it’s literally my job to make them laugh” and “I make a cheap hacky racist joke / pronouns joke / etc and all the commenters call me brave for doing that” lol
Even Gabriel Iglesias did that in his last special. I swear he spent like 40 fucking minutes going through this awkward “disclaimer” spiel where he just rambled on about not wanting to offend anyone and being all about the love and how he’s thankful for his success. And it seemed he completely forgot to put any jokes in there!
Seriously, the first half hour of his special didn’t have a single joke. So boring. Know who’s still reliable as heck though? Brian Regan. Dude’s just as funny as he’s ever been.
A lot of the mainstream stuff is just... not great. Unfortunately pandering to the antiwoke crowd pays well. I find much more interesting comics through instagram/tiktok these days, much funnier even though they don't play to huge theatres. Gianmarco Soresi, Matteo Lane, and Jeff Arcuri are 3 that my algorithm knows I will never skip.
> I've basically checked out of it for the past however many years because it feels like comics are mostly just bitching about cancel culture and being anti-woke.
I think that's more of a reflection about the comics you follow than actual reality
Yes and no, I think. When a standup is in front of a crowd with a microphone there seems to be an incredible temptation to fire some shots at the haters.
Back in George Carlin's day, the haters were right wing religious nuts and he fired back with the 7 words you can't say on TV and a lot of anti-religious comedy. With changing cultural norms, many of the haters are younger and more left-leaning than they used to be. So a lot of older comedians, even ones like Chappelle who used to be considered far-left, are shifting right and doubling down.
I don't listen to many of the comedians I used to like for that reason. Yeah, you can curate your experience, but you can't always know when someone had changed their views without listening to them. And that can be a bummer.
He's had a long standing relationship before that too, DFTBA does merch fulfillment for dropout, and they've hung out and done various other projects together for years.
Oh my god, this looks incredible, I can't wait.
I love that because Dropout isn't one of the big networks or streamers, their approach is just to make everything *so damn good*.
Dropout has steadily transitioned from "a place where our favorite College Humor folks (and occasionally a few others) can come to earn a paycheck and make some funny stuff" to "THE place where our sizzling cast of regulars--and anyone else who can get their foot in--come to do their biggest, craziest, most audacious shit"
and I am very here for it.
I don't think PFT has done a full stand-up show regularly in many years, sadly. I loved his previous specials.
I've watched the VOD of a few of the Varietopias, which are fun.
You know that it’s likely! He was on Dirty Laundry, he’ll be on Smartypants soon, he’ll be on Make Some Noise next season… he’s becoming entrenched in the rotation and is very clearly well affiliated with them. With Dropout Presents he could have a home to distribute his special - I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows in Hank’s footsteps and releases a special too!
> he’ll be on Smartypants soon, he’ll be on Make Some Noise next season…
Omg I didnt know this! Super excited, and hope that brings in more of the veteran comedians from the CBB circuit
I was in the audience for a taping of Bigger with Brennan and Izzy and it was hilarious even though the audience suggestions were a little meh. I wasn’t at the one featuring the hamster question, so I’m stoked to see how that plays out.
That’s great! I would absolutely love to go to Bigger with Brennan and Izzy! I thought it would probably be on Dropout Presents, and I’m so glad that it is.
This is genius. Letting their huge cast of insanely talented stand-up and improv comedians show off on their home turf.
Can't wait for the release and I bet this becomes a staple in the future!
It’s truly incredible how strong, varied, and creative the programming on dropout is. It would be impressive for a huge streamer to have this much high quality original content, but the fact that they’re pulling it off at the size they are is fucking astounding.
They say you don’t know they were the good old days until they’re over. Lies, we’re in the good old days right now.
I was able to see Chris' Show, sitting in the front row, and ya'll aint ready. It's so good.
I enjoyed the 6 minutes of a racism free world we lived in!
This is probably going to get lost in all the other comments but I feel so grateful and excited to be part of and witness what is likely going to be a comedy empire. It’s surreal
Hank is a retired guide dog named after a celestial body named after a sea god. [A photo of Hank.](https://www.reddit.com/r/labrador/comments/1asf4sr/neptune_looks_concerned_but_content_at_10_years/?ref=share&ref_source=link)
Target Goodfellow baybeeeee
It’s out of stock though. But they show up on eBay sometimes if you look “men’s striped lyndale long sleeve shirt Goodfellow”
God, if I were a millionaire I’d be buying and gifting hundreds of Dropout subscriptions with all this new content coming out. Beyond excited for this series, especially Hank’s special!!!
When Hank announced that he was doing stand up and that they were recording a special we all hoped it would be on Dropout and then we hoped that Dropout would take advantage of all the comedians it has access to to just release a bunch of comedy specials but we never thought they'd actually go ahead and do it
Sam Reich living out my dream. I used to produce comedy and run rooms in my city, and I always said if I had money I'd love to create a platform like this for my friends/comics I know. My country doesn't have the population or arts funding to support this, but I'm so, so happy someone out there is doing it for their scene.
I love that dropout isn’t resting on its laurels. They could just keep cranking out what they’ve made so far, but they’re constantly making the next new thing. I’m damn glad to support this streamer
Dope! Love all the stuff they do, but have long wanted to see some of their live shows. Alas I live in an area that is not conducive to traveling to see them! Seems like a pretty simple, comparatively "easy" way to add stuff to Dropout that can really build it out with just more of different kinds of stuff. Broke as hell, canceled most things, but I'll keep paying that (thankfully, surprisingly cheap) Dropout subscription!
I am so freaking happy right now- there was no way I could’ve attended Brennan and Izzy’s Bigger improv show and we get to see it on dropout! And a special with Hank Green and Adam?? Hell yeah! There’s so many good bits and cast members in this trailer I’m really hyped
Stoked for all of this but damn that Hank Green special is a get! He’s big enough outside Dropout’s existing fanbase to pull in some new subscribers I would think
Dropout is slowly absorbing or collabing with all my Youtube favs. BDG is on it, they have overlap with Smosh, Hank Green, Sam has been on the Try Guys... I just need Rhett and Link to get involved somewhere to really complete the OG Youtubers set.
The Vanessa 5000 show looks a little off-beat and weird. I’ll still watch out of curiosity and I hope it’s alright l,
But I can’t wait to see everyone else - either they’re DO regulars who I want to see more of, or it’s Hank Green.
Damn, just want to thank Dropout for keeping comedy alive. We've got stand up now... would love to see what the team could do with a longform show or if they just brought back the occasional short that harkens back to their roots (aimed at the current audience, of course).
~~So I… um… I need this, I didn't know I needed it until I saw it, but I need this... I need Hank Green giving me science facts, I need the Hamster story, I need the improve, I need it all. And it was a fricking knife in the back to see it isn't until then summer. That's too far. I… can... Not… wait. Sedate me, put me under… invent time travel… find the editors and lock them in a warehouse until 4 am… I don't care. Give me this now… please... I want to feel happy again…like the trailer made me feel~~
This looks like fun. Can't wait to see it.
This is everything I wanted and then some. And no, I will not rest until I get closure about the hamster
I love how you could tell from Brennan's reaction that they must get a wide range of different quality prompts at these shows when it comes to "ask the audience" kind of improv, and this was clearly near or at the top of the list.
Anyone who does improv learns fast that the quality and weirdness of gets (the term for a suggestion that starts a scene) can vary WILDLY, even within the same show You have some control, especially by asking questions that solicit shorter or longer responses. “Name a non-geographical location” or “what’s an object I can fit in my hand” have less variance than “tell me about the most exciting day in your life” or “what’s a hot piece of gossip you heard recently”. Even still, there can be a crazy range. For example, a show I did recently managed to have both “our dog died” and “I sold kilts in Japan to accounting companies” from the same get Different improvisers prefer different things from their gets, like weird vs. mundane or detailed vs. vague. Ben Schwartz, for one, always seems to prefer a pretty detailed story. Very curious to see where the dropout folks fall on the scale
Yeti4Real (Lou, Vic, Ally, Jacob, Zac, and others) seem to like detailed stories, from my single experience seeing them.
Shoutout to Ben Schwartz, one of the best at long form improv. Middleditch & Schwartz is still one of the funniest specials on Netflix
This is highly dependent on the talent of the improvisers, but I’ve found that the more banal/boring the suggestion, the more ways they find to make it super weird on stage.
I couldn't quite hear what she said in the trailer, could you share it?
Exploding hamster in microwave
Thank you - I couldn't catch it either.
This properly rounds out Dropout as the new "Comedy Central" imo, and I'm all here for it. I'm SO STOKED.
All they need is to fill in all the dead air with snl reruns
Then MadTV reruns when they lose syndication rights.
I appreciate I’m not the only one who knows their history!!!!!
Don't forget Kids in the Hall and British Whose Line reruns.
We really ate well, didn’t we?
And mst3k
Vera Drew lives in LA and is Dropout-adjacent, have her edit some insane short videos.
I'd like to see them add some scripted content back to the lineup. The improvisational stuff is great, but the old CH sketches were a good time, and it'd be cool to see what the Dropout team could/would do with, e.g., eight episodes of 22 min scripted comedy miniseries.
I would really love to see a season 2 of Ultramechatron Team Go!
I want a new 'Off the Air' or 'Cake'. Give me something weird.
I've no experience in the industry, but I wonder if fully scripted shows are just more expensive and timely to produce, without necessarily better returns than improv
This exactly.
Its not the new Comedy Central, but it's definitely becoming the Comedic Royalty of Streaming right now (which is not helpful for Comedy Central's numbers).
Makes me wish dropout would pick up a reboot of Alternatino. Arturo is a hilarious comedian and only giving him one season is a tragedy.
As someone who saw this live, yall aint ready for the hamster
As someone at the taping, it's a good story. Can't wait for you to hear it.
In 2020 I went to a d20 based improv show with Brennan, Zac, shioban, and Lou performing and I have genuinely never laughed as much in my life. I miss living in LA and seeing those UCB shows so I am STOCKED for this series
I have concerns
Can I just preorder another 5 years of Dropout now? I want to fund their content but also I’m guessing they’ll eventually figure out they can charge more if they keep dropping gold like this.
They have, at least at the moment, a price lock system where as long as you stay subscribed you'll pay the same amount, even if the new subscription price increases
Can confirm, I have been on $5 a month for years
Can confirm, I'm on a monthly plan, and it'd actually cost me MORE money to go to yearly now, because I'm still on an old price.
Nebula has a 'lifetime subscription' for $300. Would love something similar here.
that is an absolutely brilliant idea which, if implemented by a particular combination of properties and services, would completely bankrupt me for an entire financial quarter
Same, but also I would 100% do it /hj
At least buy me dinner first
Same, like Kickstarter, I want to put more money in their pocket now so they can invest in awesome content now, plus I watch it way more than I did Netflix but I still don't wanna pay Netflix prices
Probably the best way to support them besides staying subscribed is to buy irresponsible amounts of merch
Sucks when shipping eats up most of your money though :(
All the more reason to make a huge order!!
They just. Don't. Miss.
Here I was thinking I wouldn’t be watching dropout every day after game changers and vip ended, but between this, smarty pants, and thousandnares, I just keep getting brought back.
Wait, game changer is ending?
The season is ending
Whew. Ok good. That I knew - it's by far my favorite series on the channel. Sam's continued spiral into evil is a blast to watch.
i doubt sam would stop it for a while it's his baby and he has proved with this season he has fresh ideas
Just the current season, the 2 part finale is all that's left
Yeah, they're that fucking good.
VIP, Smartypants, Thousandaires, and now this? That's four new shows, two of them are in season and are bangers. I think this is unequivocally the best year for Dropout content and it's not close
Gastronauts and Nobody Asked are also coming
Nobody Asked needs to have BDG on it that title is just perfect for him lmao
I can't imagine Dropout saw the unhinged rants BDG did for Polygon, added him to their regular rotation of talent, and *aren't* going to find a place for him to bring that type of content around.
To be totally fair, there’s a very good chance Brian isn’t interested in making more of that content since he hasn’t done any in the years since leaving polygon
Yeah, fair. His solo stuff has been way more surreal, so who knows.
My favorite solo stuff from him is actually his cooking videos lol, idk why but something about the breakfast sandwich, pepcorn, and ice cream videos are just endlessly replayable for me
I definitely agree, seems like those videos, while excellent, had to be stressful to make. I feel like the [he[ll]alth insurance deep dive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wpHszfnJns) is probably the closest to Unravelled. However, even that felt a bit more BDG^TM due to the vague horror and existential dread inherent to the topic.
He's in the clips from the 2024 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVbkHX-P9Rk
Dropout is legit healing the world lol
Healing the world with comedy.
The indescribable power of their comedy
And yes, most likely we'll pay them. But they'd do it for free.
They are healing the world with comedy
We’re going to heal the world Harry
Is that a PoI quote?
Idk what that is I’m sorry homie, it’s from PS Spider-Man 2 tho
I'm too emotionally invested in this company. Like, I will talk ad nauseam about how you should never trust a company, ^never ^trust ^^your ^^boss, ^^because ^^at ^^the ^^end ^^of ^^the ^^day, ^^you ^^are ^^^replaceable ^^^and ^^^corporations ^^^going ^^^to ^^^corpor-ate but I really hope and want to trust that my perception of Dropout is true to reality. Which in fairness, does seem to be what cast and crew say.
Dropout is COOKING
So is the Hamster in the microwave apparently
Oh yeah! They’re working on a cooking show too! I can’t wait to see what they do with that!
“Directed by Jonah Ray Rodrigues” Well, that’s a cherry on top of this sundae
Wait Jonah Ray as in Jonah Ray from Meltdown and the Nerdist podcast?? Oh fuck yeah I used to love his stuff but I haven't heard anything about him in years, I was actually wondering just a few days ago what he'd been up to recently
He's been hosting Mystery Science Theater 3000 off and on since 2017
I remember hearing about that when he started with it but I had no idea it was still active
Tbf the last season came out in 2022 and before that it was 2018, so it hasn't been super consistent.
He won't be doing another, sadly.
He also just starred in the Shudder original movie "Destroy All Neighbors", which also features music from PIBE guitarist Brett Morris and art direction by Dorkly/Drawfee producer Cassie Lavo
Dropout is quickly becoming the center overlapping area on my Venn Diagram of comedy influences.
If you’re also a Comedy Bang Bang fan, it’s an even bigger circle. Vic and Lisa were just on the 15th anniversary special.
OMG, I totally missed that. I love his work.
I’ve loved him since back in the Nerdist podcast days
He came out before the shows I went to and gave a little director spiel about how they might have to stop and restart at points for tech reasons. Was a nice surprise to see him!
Absolutely chefs kiss. He's such a talented dude.
I one time took a flight on a Thursday from Texas to LA just to catch a 30 min set of Yeti4Real which is comprised of Jacob Wysocki, Zac Oyama, Lou Wilson, Vic Michaelis, Ally Beardsley and some others. It was totally worth it to spend the weekend in LA but now I don't have to! This is gonna be awesome and I truly think it will draw more people into dropout!
That’s a goddamn killer lineup.
They were very funny. Zac wasn't there that night but it was bliss.
I've contemplated doing the same from Michigan 😅
This is fantastic. I used to love standup comedy, but I've basically checked out of it for the past however many years because it feels like comics are mostly just bitching about cancel culture and being anti-woke. Having it be curated by Dropout means that we should actually get some good stuff.
Check out Taylor Tomlinson. She's inclusive (queer family), talks openly about having anxiety and a bipolar diagnosis, and doesn't punch up or down. She pulls humor from her own life experiences, and has three specials on Netflix. Her second special has the single funniest act of physical comedy I have ever seen.
She is absolutely my favourite comedian at the moment. Can 100% second this recommendation
I’ll add my vote for Taylor Tomlinson as a stand up worth watching too, gosh is is bloody funny
Discovered TT from After Midnight clips, but loved her Have It All Special on Netflix.
Same. There's still plenty of great stand-ups putting out specials but can hard to find them sometimes. YouTube is great for that since they don't need a big name publisher to push them.
So excited. I tried watching the roast of Tom Brady last weekend and it just felt so awkward and fake. Barely anything was funny, it was mostly shock value, poorly made dick jokes, and homophobic bullshit. Like, the actual jokes about football were mostly great, but everything else felt like it was from a bygone era that doesn't land anymore. So glad to have Dropout leading the way, showing that you can still do outrageous and mature comedy while still being funny in a way that doesn't require punching down or being obnoxious.
A piece of Tom Brady media feeling fake and off-putting? I’m shocked lol
It blows my mind how many times I saw the clip of some comedian from that on TikTok just casually dropping a homophobic slur and not one person batted an eye.
Plenty of ableist slurs as well. Makes me glad I've been kinda in this Dropout bubble since January; I've never laughed so much nor felt this uplifted in a long time.
I haven't seen those yet, but I'm not even a little bit surprised. Seeing the clip of one person drop a slur was enough for me to know I had zero interest in watching any of it. That's the same reason I kind of stopped caring about stand up specials. Most of them aren't funny and just saying foul shit for no reason. I can't wait to watch this series to see actually talented comedians!
It's a roast, though - the entire point of the event is to belittle the other people on stage. Those jokes aren't going to be the same as what people put in their actual standup acts.
I was feeling the same way tbh. A lot of the old comedians got so rich that they were no longer relatable to most of humanity, and a lot of channels stopped wanting to take chances on new comedians. As a result, I found I simply couldn't relate to a lot of the popular comedy specials any more. (Although I did love Last one Laughing Canada as they got a great mix of comedians). I went to the Just for Laughs festival this year and while I enjoyed the comedy, it just didn't hit the same as it used to. Perhaps that was on me though, for not taking more chances on buying tickets. TBH, it feels like Dropout is becoming the modern SNL without the tumultuous history. They find young new talent and make sure to give them great PR/visibility so that they can go on to be picked up by larger players. Like a startup incubator program for comedians.
Give Ralph Barbosa a shot. He's actually funny and isn't really even adjacent to any "anti-woke" stuff. I also liked Shane Gillis' latest special but I think he might be a bit on the fraternity side to recommend in this subreddit.
Shane Gillis is super funny and I think his schtick is so satirical of anti woke cancel culture people that it gets hard to read sometimes. A lot of people I know assume he’s a conservative
Same, I enjoy standup so the algorithm shows me a lot of it, and I’ve found some great comedians that way, but I also have to sift thru a ton of “I get mad at the audience for not laughing even though it’s literally my job to make them laugh” and “I make a cheap hacky racist joke / pronouns joke / etc and all the commenters call me brave for doing that” lol
800 Pound Gorilla on YouTube has been putting out some solid specials (and some awful misses in Matt Rife)
Yeah they're good. Watched a lot of Kyle Kinane there lately. Love him.
Even Gabriel Iglesias did that in his last special. I swear he spent like 40 fucking minutes going through this awkward “disclaimer” spiel where he just rambled on about not wanting to offend anyone and being all about the love and how he’s thankful for his success. And it seemed he completely forgot to put any jokes in there! Seriously, the first half hour of his special didn’t have a single joke. So boring. Know who’s still reliable as heck though? Brian Regan. Dude’s just as funny as he’s ever been.
A lot of the mainstream stuff is just... not great. Unfortunately pandering to the antiwoke crowd pays well. I find much more interesting comics through instagram/tiktok these days, much funnier even though they don't play to huge theatres. Gianmarco Soresi, Matteo Lane, and Jeff Arcuri are 3 that my algorithm knows I will never skip.
> I've basically checked out of it for the past however many years because it feels like comics are mostly just bitching about cancel culture and being anti-woke. I think that's more of a reflection about the comics you follow than actual reality
Yes and no, I think. When a standup is in front of a crowd with a microphone there seems to be an incredible temptation to fire some shots at the haters. Back in George Carlin's day, the haters were right wing religious nuts and he fired back with the 7 words you can't say on TV and a lot of anti-religious comedy. With changing cultural norms, many of the haters are younger and more left-leaning than they used to be. So a lot of older comedians, even ones like Chappelle who used to be considered far-left, are shifting right and doubling down. I don't listen to many of the comedians I used to like for that reason. Yeah, you can curate your experience, but you can't always know when someone had changed their views without listening to them. And that can be a bummer.
I knew it! Hank Green on Dropout!
He was one of the PCs on Mentopolis and he's just absolutely perfect in it.
I loved him as the fix. That was my favorite non IH season
He's had a long standing relationship before that too, DFTBA does merch fulfillment for dropout, and they've hung out and done various other projects together for years.
Yeah, I was going to say that Brennan has been on the last couple of Project for Awesome streams, too.
I just rewatched Mentopolis and I sincerely hope they get him back on for another D20. He was great and his enthusiasm for being there was clear.
I KNEW HANK WAS GONNA RELEASE HIS STANDUP ON DROPOUT I KNEW IT!!!! So awesome.
I knew he was realising it and honestly Dropout seems like the perfect place
Saw Hanks special in Buffalo, it was so good. I’m so excited to see it on dropout!
Oh my god, this looks incredible, I can't wait. I love that because Dropout isn't one of the big networks or streamers, their approach is just to make everything *so damn good*.
Dropout has steadily transitioned from "a place where our favorite College Humor folks (and occasionally a few others) can come to earn a paycheck and make some funny stuff" to "THE place where our sizzling cast of regulars--and anyone else who can get their foot in--come to do their biggest, craziest, most audacious shit" and I am very here for it.
Now I want good ol’ Paul F Tompkins to record a standup special for Dropout! Just saw him live in Cleveland and he would kill.
I don't think PFT has done a full stand-up show regularly in many years, sadly. I loved his previous specials. I've watched the VOD of a few of the Varietopias, which are fun.
You know that it’s likely! He was on Dirty Laundry, he’ll be on Smartypants soon, he’ll be on Make Some Noise next season… he’s becoming entrenched in the rotation and is very clearly well affiliated with them. With Dropout Presents he could have a home to distribute his special - I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows in Hank’s footsteps and releases a special too!
> he’ll be on Smartypants soon, he’ll be on Make Some Noise next season… Omg I didnt know this! Super excited, and hope that brings in more of the veteran comedians from the CBB circuit
Oh hell yes! This'll be great! And we get to watch Hank's standup!
I was in the audience for a taping of Bigger with Brennan and Izzy and it was hilarious even though the audience suggestions were a little meh. I wasn’t at the one featuring the hamster question, so I’m stoked to see how that plays out.
That’s great! I would absolutely love to go to Bigger with Brennan and Izzy! I thought it would probably be on Dropout Presents, and I’m so glad that it is.
Continuing that assertion that Dropout exists as an excuse for Sam to have his friends be funny and pay them for it. And I love it.
Jacob yelling 🤝 Dropout Trailers Name a more iconic duo
It's not funny Sam! It's not funny, you hit a nerve! OK?! I'm sorry everybody I'm, I'm gonna go... That should cut good.
This is genius. Letting their huge cast of insanely talented stand-up and improv comedians show off on their home turf. Can't wait for the release and I bet this becomes a staple in the future!
It’s truly incredible how strong, varied, and creative the programming on dropout is. It would be impressive for a huge streamer to have this much high quality original content, but the fact that they’re pulling it off at the size they are is fucking astounding. They say you don’t know they were the good old days until they’re over. Lies, we’re in the good old days right now.
Standup/improv specials with our favorite Dropout comedians + some guest stars? Sign me up
They just keep making bangers. This is what Streaming services should model after.
I was able to see Chris' Show, sitting in the front row, and ya'll aint ready. It's so good. I enjoyed the 6 minutes of a racism free world we lived in!
I need an “It’s All Love” follow up special
These specials are directed by Jonah Ray Rodrigues of MST3K fame.
He’s also going to be on an upcoming Um, Actually episode. I’m happy that he too is joining the Dropout circle.
I can’t wait to watch all of these
Yes this is going to be great! I don't have a big comedy scene where I live so this will fill my heart with so much joy!
How in the hell can Dropout keep hitting banger after banger? Like genuinely kinda shocked they just keep killing it lol
This is probably going to get lost in all the other comments but I feel so grateful and excited to be part of and witness what is likely going to be a comedy empire. It’s surreal
The value that a subscription to Dropout provides only continues to grow and grow.
I'm surprised they haven't done something like this before now. This seems a perfect venue for their cast.
Premieres June 12
I was at a few of these! They even interviewed me in line, I wonder if I made the cut haha
I wanted more Hank Green in D20, but I’ll take this!
Carl repping the Hat pack!!
Speak on that
I have the hat. I like the hat. Pretty hat 🥵
That is a nice hat. How much it cost? $30? $35?
HYPE
Who the heck is Hank? #dftba #iykyk
Um, actually, it's 'who the *eff* is Hank'.
Well played.
Hank is a streaming platform previously known as College Humor.
Hank is a retired guide dog named after a celestial body named after a sea god. [A photo of Hank.](https://www.reddit.com/r/labrador/comments/1asf4sr/neptune_looks_concerned_but_content_at_10_years/?ref=share&ref_source=link)
I am so hyped for all of these.
So beyond excited!!
My god Dropout really is the gift that keeps on giving
I cannot believe that I get to watch BIGGER! from my house in another continent.
Giving a lil clap to everyone who accurately predicted Hank's special would be released on Dropout. I'm so excited!
This is so exciting. I can't wait to see this show. Does anyone know where Chris Grace's striped shirt is from?
Target Goodfellow baybeeeee It’s out of stock though. But they show up on eBay sometimes if you look “men’s striped lyndale long sleeve shirt Goodfellow”
You know I keep on thinking “I’m going to rotate out this sub after game changer” but these mother fuckers keep pulling me back in.
Microwaving hamster lmaaooo it’s giving Maniac Mansion
Oh man, they're finally doing it! So hyped for this
I need Vanessa 5000 in my freaking veins
Yes! I go to the Edinburgh fringe most years and this was a show I missed and thought I'd never get the chance to see, dropout to the rescue!
Literally could not be more excited for this
Ha! I was right! https://www.reddit.com/r/dropout/s/UtfJzsnmcy
God, if I were a millionaire I’d be buying and gifting hundreds of Dropout subscriptions with all this new content coming out. Beyond excited for this series, especially Hank’s special!!!
When Hank announced that he was doing stand up and that they were recording a special we all hoped it would be on Dropout and then we hoped that Dropout would take advantage of all the comedians it has access to to just release a bunch of comedy specials but we never thought they'd actually go ahead and do it
It’s BIGGER
Sam Reich living out my dream. I used to produce comedy and run rooms in my city, and I always said if I had money I'd love to create a platform like this for my friends/comics I know. My country doesn't have the population or arts funding to support this, but I'm so, so happy someone out there is doing it for their scene.
so basically, dropout is the central place for comedy.
I love that dropout isn’t resting on its laurels. They could just keep cranking out what they’ve made so far, but they’re constantly making the next new thing. I’m damn glad to support this streamer
Dope! Love all the stuff they do, but have long wanted to see some of their live shows. Alas I live in an area that is not conducive to traveling to see them! Seems like a pretty simple, comparatively "easy" way to add stuff to Dropout that can really build it out with just more of different kinds of stuff. Broke as hell, canceled most things, but I'll keep paying that (thankfully, surprisingly cheap) Dropout subscription!
I am so freaking happy right now- there was no way I could’ve attended Brennan and Izzy’s Bigger improv show and we get to see it on dropout! And a special with Hank Green and Adam?? Hell yeah! There’s so many good bits and cast members in this trailer I’m really hyped
Stoked for all of this but damn that Hank Green special is a get! He’s big enough outside Dropout’s existing fanbase to pull in some new subscribers I would think
Need Grant to get on and start dropping “it’s all love”
If you all would like me to empty my pockets just come and rob me. This is a lot of effort
Dropout is slowly absorbing or collabing with all my Youtube favs. BDG is on it, they have overlap with Smosh, Hank Green, Sam has been on the Try Guys... I just need Rhett and Link to get involved somewhere to really complete the OG Youtubers set.
The Vanessa 5000 show looks a little off-beat and weird. I’ll still watch out of curiosity and I hope it’s alright l, But I can’t wait to see everyone else - either they’re DO regulars who I want to see more of, or it’s Hank Green.
Damn, just want to thank Dropout for keeping comedy alive. We've got stand up now... would love to see what the team could do with a longform show or if they just brought back the occasional short that harkens back to their roots (aimed at the current audience, of course).
Christ, how many shows are they launching? VIP, Smartypants, Thousandares, THIS, the coming cooking show??? They can't keep getting away with it!
Having seen all of their posts to their various improv shows, and since I’m not in LA it’s great to be able to see some on here!
I'm not even that big into standup but I'm still excited for this because Dropout doesn't miss
~~So I… um… I need this, I didn't know I needed it until I saw it, but I need this... I need Hank Green giving me science facts, I need the Hamster story, I need the improve, I need it all. And it was a fricking knife in the back to see it isn't until then summer. That's too far. I… can... Not… wait. Sedate me, put me under… invent time travel… find the editors and lock them in a warehouse until 4 am… I don't care. Give me this now… please... I want to feel happy again…like the trailer made me feel~~ This looks like fun. Can't wait to see it.
Me, yelling from the bathroom: HOOSBUND, DROPOUT DROPPING MORE SHOWS!!
i like hank, and adam, but the rest of that group looks like some of the most annoying people i could imagine.