Starring Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central’s satirical after-school-special model sequence Strangers With Sweet began as one thing solely severe comedians and self-proclaimed weirdos would give a second thought. Although unpopular during its two-year run of three seasons, Strangers With Sweet catalyzed Comedy Central’s live-action sitcom repertoire. The present’s darkish, surreal comedy was forward of its time, however by means of moveable video codecs throughout the a long time, the series rose to become a cult favorite. Past discovering its area of interest, Strangers With Sweet put Sedaris, Colbert, and a whirlwind of different comedy skills on the map.
‘Strangers With Sweet’ Was Comedy Central’s First Unique Stay-Motion Sitcom
Earlier than Strangers With Sweet, Comedy Central was a string of previous comedy motion pictures, selection/discuss exhibits, clip exhibits, sketch comedy, and sitcom reruns. Contemporary off of their Comedy Central sketch present Exit 57, improv-based actors Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello broke floor in a landfill of cable reruns and created one thing – not without its hitches and rewrites – that might open a brand new realm of content material for the community. When Strangers With Sweet got here out in 1999, the community lastly had its very personal authentic narrative sequence, a severe comedy for comedians with a style for one thing rather less mainstream.
Strangers With Sweet centered on Amy Sedaris’ Jerri Clean, a 46-year-old highschool freshman who returned from jail after having been, in her phrases, “a boozer, consumer, and a loser.” Jerri spends the series learning all the wrong lessons and navigating the throes of being an adolescent over again, famously claiming that “although the faces might have modified, the hassles are simply the identical.” Alongside Sedaris had been Colbert and Dinello as Chuck Noblet and Geoffrey (pronounced “Joffrey”) Jellineck, respectively, two romantically concerned however closeted academics at Jerri’s college, and Greg Hollimon because the principal of Flatpoint Excessive Faculty, Onyx Blackman. The primary episode of Strangers sees Jerri throwing a celebration, hoping to develop into extra common. However when she finds out that nobody is , she reaches not-so-far again into her immoral previous to draw party-goers along with her information of medication. Her concoction unintentionally proves deadly for the most well-liked woman at school, and Jerri (kind of) learns her lesson.
What Made ‘Strangers With Sweet’ So Particular?
Together with her unavoidable overbite, distinctive twang, and oddly endearing sense of innocence, Sedaris’ severely unorthodox and unsettling heroine is a big a part of the enchantment for followers of Strangers With Sweet. However as for the remainder of the present, you simply need to get it. Specifically impressed by the 1970 PSA documentary The Journey Again with Florrie Fisher, Strangers mocked the polished and ribbon-wrapped values of the typical Nineteen Seventies/80s after-school particular and flipped the apparent ethical of the story on its head with every episode. Its format was thinly scripted, as Comedy Central gave the improv-trained creators of the present acres of inventive liberty, so the show thrived on Jerri’s profane imagery and taboo language. Due to its esoteric and absurdist comedy, Strangers With Sweet wasn’t really common with audiences throughout its run (and even its post-South Park time slot couldn’t clear up the difficulty). Critically, the show never won any accolades, and a lot of the evaluations it managed to obtain had an “I don’t get it” form of tone. Most viewers had been simply too delay by the present’s aggressively offensive humor.
Though Strangers With Sweet wasn’t instantly supposed as a revolutionary or groundbreaking sort of sequence, it inspired countless fans of comedy and aspiring comedy performers. Remnants of the series’ unapologetic satire ripple all through fashionable comedy from the likes of John Early, Kate Berlant, Ilana Glazer, and Cole Escola. Sedaris explained to the Los Angeles Times, “Lots of people come up and say that it modified all the things, that it modified the rulebook. I believe we broke the principles as a result of we didn’t actually know what the principles had been.” Although solely possessing a TV-14 ranking, Strangers would be virtually impossible to sell in the modern social climate.
Strangers With Sweet holds quick to its cult following 25 years later. It continues to be name-dropped and referenced as an affect by a number of stand-ups, comedy writers, and comedy actors. A plethora of then-rising comedy stars made cameo appearances on the present, together with Will Ferrell, Winona Ryder, Paul Rudd, Tim Meadows, David Cross, Alan Tudyk, and Andy Richter. It took a gaggle of gamers wacky sufficient to imagine within the present for it to (ultimately) blossom because it does at this time. Although the world didn’t appear to wish to discover, Strangers With Sweet was raucously making TV historical past.
Strangers With Sweet is out there to stream on Paramount+ within the U.S.
